Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Thrill of MotoGP Racing at the Dutch TT in Assen
The fastest men on two wheels battling it out from start to finish!
I was not prepared. “For what?!?” I hear you ask, and I will explain. I was not prepared for the thunder of a full grid of MotoGP bikes lined up for the start of a race, hitting the rev limiter in sync, waiting for the light to go green and launch themselves towards the Haarbocht, Assen’s first corner. I have been watching MotoGP on TV for a while now, even more so after getting my motorcycle driving license, and was aware of the roar of the MotoGP. But hearing it, and even more so, feeling it up close and in person is a whole different thing! My first-ever MotoGP attendance was also the 100th anniversary of the TT in Assen, the Netherlands, the only race on the calendar to carry the Tourist Trophy name, and it’s a special one for sure!
The 2025 season is the 77th running of the top-class Road Racing World Championship for motorbikes, now known as the MotoGP. Starting in 1949 with five different classes: 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and sidecars. Over the years, rules and regulations have changed, with motorbikes going up and down in engine capacity. Nowadays, engine capacity is fixed at 250cc single-cylinder bikes for the Moto3, moving to 765cc inline-threes for the Moto2, and topping out at 1,000cc inline-four or V-4 engines for the MotoGP class. Depending on the track layout, and the length of straights and so on, speeds hit about 270kph in Moto3, 310kph in Moto2 and an incredible >360kph in MotoGP.
Throughout history, plenty of names have left an indelible mark on the sport. Giacomo Agostini is the most successful racer in motorbike history, winning 15 championships across multiple classes, with Ángel Nieto racking up 14 titles. Other historic names are Mike Hailwood, who won 10 out of 12 races in the 1966 season, and John Surtees for being the only one to become world Grand Prix motorcycle champion (seven times actually!) and Formula 1 world champion in 1964. From the modern era, of course, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Márquez are among the very best to have ever raced on two wheels. This year, it’s a battle between Marc Márquez and Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia for the (factory) Ducati Lenovo Team, and Álex Márquez (Marc’s younger brother) racing another Ducati, but for the BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP team.
100 Years of TT Racing
The MotoGP calendar for 2025 consists of 22 races across the world, with the majority hosted in Europe. Italy welcomes the full grid of 76 riders (22 in MotoGP, 28 in Moto2 and 26 in Moto3) twice, at Mugello and Imola, while Spain is visited three times, with races in Barcelona, Valencia and Aragón. However, to us Dutchies, it’s Assen that’s the absolute season highlight! The Dutch circuit is a favourite of many two-wheeled gladiators and is called “The Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing” by fans. Again, it’s Giacomo Agostini and Ángel Nieto who top the charts, this time in reverse order, though. Agostino won 14 times at Assen, with Nieto taking the top spot on the podium 15 times.
The first race was held on dirt and gravel roads in 1925, marking this year as the centennial anniversary of the event. It’s also been on the calendar every single year since 1949, except for the 2020 season, which was cancelled due to Covid19. The layout has changed many times, with the latest big change being the removal of the North Loop, shortening the track to its current 4.55km version. The track is known for being fast, flowing and very technical, with corners like the Haarbocht, Ossenbroeken, Strubbe, Ramshoek and the Geert Timmer (GT) chicane challenging riders lap after lap. There’s very little time to relax, as even the straight isn’t really straight. The current King of Assen, by name at least, is Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia, with three wins in a row between 2022 and 2024.
The weekend build-up
The ‘Week of Assen’ (and pretty much all the other race weekends) starts on Thursday, with the teams and riders preparing for the first practice session on Friday morning. The classes are run in order, with Moto3 being the first to hit the track, then Moto2 and then the MotoGP superstars. On Friday afternoon, there’s a second practice session, followed by the qualifying sessions to determine the starting order for Saturday’s sprint race, which is about half the number of laps of the feature race on Sunday. In between sessions, there are additional events, such as the MotoE championship (yes, an EV motorcycle class).
As the crowd gathers in droves from very early on every single day, the drive to Assen is already quite a spectacle. From all corners of the Netherlands, and even abroad, the immensely diverse crowd of motorcyclists becomes denser and denser the closer you get to the track. Those who spend the entire weekend there have set up camp just outside of the track and will undoubtedly have enjoyed the parties that go on well into the night, before waking up to hit the stands again. Everywhere you look, there are people waiting in anticipation of the hero driver to chase the win.
First up is the warm-up for the MotoGP, which the riders use to get another feel of the track conditions and so on. Then, it’s on to the Moto3, which races for 20 laps. This junior category is usually tightly packed from start to finish, with a long string of riders snaking around the track lap after lap. Each one of them seems fearless and hell-bent on making the jump forward in the field, and eventually to the higher levels of racing.
Moto2 is a big step up, both in power, speed and tactical racing. Tyre management becomes a bigger issue, and with the more advanced machines come more set-up options. The field is generally a mix of more experienced drivers racing in their second or third season, and rookies coming up from Moto3. Racing at Assen is done over 22 laps, before they make way for the MotoGP class, who battled it out over the course of 26 laps at Assen.
Full Throttle Sunday
The Sunday in any MotoGP weekend starts with the warm-up for the top-tier class, the MotoGP. The riders are given 10 minutes to get a feel for the track, the bike and the weather circumstances. With a very sunny Sunday ahead, all seemed smooth for a perfect day of racing! Then the Moto3 is up first, which saw close racing from flag to flag. It was Spaniard José Antonio Rueda who put his bike in pole position in qualifying, but dropped down the order as soon as the lights went green for the race. Clawing his way back up the field, along with David Muñoz, Rueda retook the lead on the penultimate lap. Unfortunately, a crash in the Geert Timmer chicane saw Luca Lunetta being overrun by an oncoming competitor, which caused the unlucky Italian to break his leg in multiple places. This brought out the yellow flag at first, but a red flag not too long after. Finishing under code red, Rueda took the win and extended his championship lead.
To up the thrill of my very first MotoGP weekend, I was allowed to watch the start of the Moto2 race from the pit wall, just meters down the straight from the start/finish line (see the clip above). It was Diogo Moreira to start on pole, with Arón Canet right behind him, but the two swapped places almost immediately after the start. With Moreira now chasing Canet, it was a thrilling close-wheel race to the end. On lap 19, Canet moved over to let Moreira through to try and break the tow and come back by to ensure the win. Moreira, however, had enough tyre life left to last it out until the chequered flag, as the two men finished just 0.056s apart! It was Moreira’s first victory in Moto2, and also the first Brazilian win in the class. Further down the field, a lot of things went down, with no less than 10 drivers not making it to the finish! Dutchmen Colin Veijer and Zonta van den Goorbergh finished 12th and 14th, respectively, which wasn’t too bad given the circumstances.
Pretty much the entire season in MotoGP so far has been a throwdown between Marc Márquez, Álex Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia, and Assen was shaping up to be no different. While Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo qualified on pole, it was Pecco Bagnaia who took an early lead. A tense battle between Álex Márquez and Pedro Acosta saw the younger of the two Márquez brothers crash, with a broken left hand as a result. Marc Márquez challenged Bagnaia for the lead, with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi putting in a strong performance close behind. Swapping places with Márquez, Bagnaia ended up dropping to third and even fourth as Bezzecchi and Acosta managed to pass him. Bezzecchi was right on Márzquez’ tale for the remainder of the race, but never had the pace to attack for the lead. The Ducati rider managed to get his bike across the line in first place, with Bezzecchi coming in second, and Bagnaia third. All in all, it was a thrilling battle from start to finish in all classes, showing that these guys are willing to lay it all on the line for the sweet, sweet victory! The next race is in Germany, on the Sachsenring, and I, for one, can’t wait to watch it all over again. But, from the couch at home, sadly.
Tissot MotoGP Watches
Of course, there are ties between racing and timekeeping in MotoGP, with Tissot being the official timing partner of the championship. The Swiss manufacturer has been a partner of MotoGP for quite some years now, and offers a collection of racing-inspired sports watches in its T-Race collection. There’s a mix of styles and colours available, with some taking inspiration from racing in the form of a brake disc-shaped bezel. Every year, Tissot also presents an official MotoGP set of limited edition watches.
This year’s official Tissot MotoGP watch, the T-Race MotoGP Automatic Chronograph, comes in a stout 45mm wide steel case with the aforementioned brake disc bezel in black. While it sounds large on paper, the construction of the case and supple rubber strap keep it sort of wearable. The dial is openworked to reveal the mechanical Valjoux A05.951 that powers the watch, which is also visible through the caseback. It’s limited to 2,025 pieces (tying in this year) and retails for EUR 2,175. Additionally, a quartz version is available, featuring a similar overall design but with a closed, dark grey dial and a solid caseback. This retails for EUR 695 and is limited to 8,000 units. Either one of the two will make you feel, sort of at least, like you’re one step closer to the most exciting sport on earth; MotoGP!
Editorial Note: The images used in this article are our own, as well as sourced from and used with permission of Tissot SA unless stated otherwise.
