The capital city of the Drenthe province in the northeast of Holland, Assen has been a major centre for motorcycle racing since Motorclub Assen & Omstreken organised the inaugural Dutch Tourist Trophy on 11 July 1925. The annual race was first held on a 17.7-mile temporary street circuit that year and has only failed to take place due to World War II (1940-45) and the COVID pandemic (2020). It is traditionally held on the last weekend in June and is the oldest race on the MotoGP calendar. The event switched to the current TT Circuit Assen in 1955. That still used some public roads and the transformation to a permanent facility was only completed in 1992. Ángel Nieto won 15 times in the 50cc and 125cc categories while Valentino Rossi is an eight-time MotoGP winner at the “Cathedral of Speed”. In addition to the motorcycle GP, Justin Wilson won a one-off Champ Car race in 2007 and the circuit held a round of the DTM touring car series from 2019-21.
