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Training session in front of the grandstand
The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT race, it is considered "The Cathedral" of motorcycling by the fans. It has a capacity of 100,000 spectators, including 60,000 seats. It has also become a venue for concerts as heavy metal legends Iron Maiden performed at the circuit in August 2008, making them the first band to hold a concert at the venue.
It will host an A1GP World Cup of Motorsport event for the first time in 2010.
[edit] History
The original Assen track was first used for the 1925 Dutch TT (Tourist Trophy) race, held on country roads through the villages of Borger, Schoonloo and Grolloo, and organized by the Motorclub Assen en Omstreken. The brick-paved track had a length of 17.75 miles (28.57 km). The winner was Piet van Wijngaarden on a 500 cc Norton with an average speed of 91.4 kilometers per hour (56.8 mph).
In years afterwards the Dutch TT was held on a road circuit through de Haar, Barteldbocht (near Assen), Oude Tol, Hooghalen, Laaghalen and Laaghalerveen.
In 1951 the Italian Umberto Masetti took the record on a 500 cc Gilera with an average speed of 100.88 miles per hour (162.35 km/h). In 1954, Geoff Duke of Great Britain reached 106.06 miles per hour (170.69 km/h). The circuit remained unchanged until 1955, when a whole new circuit was built close to the site of the original, but less than a third of the length and much more like a modern road racing circuit.
The circuit was fundamentally redesigned again in 2006, becoming the so-called A-Style Assen TT Circuit. All alterations aside, only one section of the circuit is original; the finish line never moved.
[edit] Current racetrack
The current Assen race track was built in 1955, and initially had a length of 7,705 meters (4.788 mi). The current track has a length of 4,555 meters (2.830 mi). The longest straight is 560 meters (0.348 mi). The curves in Assen were traditionally banked and the surface is extremely grippy, so the riders were able to drive much faster on the course than other circuits. Today these sloped or curved bends have been modified due to safety issues.
[edit] Innovation
On July 6, 2004 the organization announced plans for an amusement park located to the north of the track. In 2006 the northern loop was removed and the length was shortened to 4,555 meters. The new centre is expected to be visited by 300,000 people, and the total investment is approximately € 85 million.
[edit] Trivia
- The TT Circuit is the only circuit on the world championship calendar that was already on the calendar when the series started in 1949.
- The Dutch TT is always held on last Saturday of June.
- It is the only roadracing circuit in the series specifically designed for motorcycle racing. However, Champ Car made its Dutch debut in 2007 at Assen.
- The track layout makes it a very technical, twisty circuit with little room for error, although track alterations carried out over the years paradoxically make it a 'safe' circuit. Further alterations were carried out in 2007 for Champ Car.
- The curves are banked and the surface is extremely grippy, even in wet conditions.
- Iron Maiden was the first band to have played a concert there, as part of their Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008 on 16 August.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 52°57′42″N 6°31′24″E / 52.96167°N 6.52333°E / 52.96167; 6.52333
