Motorcycles and news

The TT Circuit Assen has been redesigned over the winter, with the “North Loop” section of the circuit being extensively remodelled.

The Assen 500 round of the FIM World Endurance Championship will be the first world championship race to be held on the new track.

The circuit will be christened with a round of the Dutch Open Championship on the 2nd of April, with the World Endurance Championship race taking place two weeks later on Easter Monday, the 17th of April.

The new loop of the track begins at the end of the start-finish straight with the Haarbocht curve, kinks right through Madijk, loops right again through Ossebroeken and then rejoins the old circuit at Strubben. A full circuit map is provided below.

The circuit varies in width between 14 and 10 metres, and features 6 right hand and 11 left hand corners. The longest straight, between Strubben and Ruskenhoek, stretches 560 metres and will be used for measuring top speeds.

The new circuit is 4.555km long, and the Assen 500km race will run for 110 laps, giving an actual race distance of 501.05km.

The running time of the race is estimated to be three and a half hours, and many of the World Endurance Championship riders are relishing the chance to set and hold the lap record for the new circuit.