Those who drive from the south towards the TT circuit can hardly ignore it. If you look at the Assen-Zuid exit to the right, there is a very large banner. VR46 Forever is on it. The banner is from poultry farmer Jarno Jansen. A Rossi fan in heart and soul. Still, even though the driver has not been driving in the MotoGP since 2021. “I was a fan right away,” he says.
Jansen goes to the TT from a small time. “As a little boy I went with my father, so my first TT will have been about 35 years ago,” says Jansen, shocked by his own calculation. He has seen Hans Spaan win and also the win of sidecar Egbert Streuer and Bernard Schnieders can put Jansen on his list.
“My father is a real motorsport enthusiast. World superbike, MotoGP, British Superbike, he follows it all. As children, we were really influenced by that.” The MotoGP stayed at Jansen, he still follows.
Even though Rossi no longer drives, Jansen still counts down to the TT. As an organizer of the afterpartty in Hooghalen, that is also necessary. “We are already busy preparing, such as arranging the permit.” Since 2018, the afterpartty has been taken over by the organization of the Trekerslep Hooghalen, of which Jansen is also part.
Earlier was the afterpartty at the Wapen van Scotland in Hooghalen. Jansen himself always came there after he had been on the track. “Yes, that was nice. It was always fun there.” At the time, he already had experience with the tractor layer in Hooghalen and it was already called that he also had to take on the organization of that party. “I always said: never that I will take over.”
After it became clear that the owner of the Wapen of Scotland would stop, it happened anyway. For Jansen, the party after the TT races is a kind of reunion. “People came together after the race. A game of beer, music and fun,” says Jansen laughing.
The preparation for the party is already busy, but according to Jansen the TT in and around Assen will really live a few weeks in advance. “We start preparations, things happen in the city and everyone is well -mashed. People are talking about it. So yes, then it will start to itch.”
This Valentino Rossi superfan ensures that Rossi is not forgotten during the TT. “I always make sure that my Rossi-outfit looks spic and span when I go to the circuit. I scream a yellow cowboy hat somewhere and stick the number 46 on it.”
However, it is being cheered along the track for someone else now that Rossi is no longer driving. The MotoGP connoisseurs can probably already gamble it. Nowadays Jansen Francesco Bagnaia, the pupil of Valentino Rossi, prefers to be the first to cross the finish line.
The number 46 will always remain on the barn. Now it is still a banner, but when the shed is finished, it paints 46 again. According to Jansen, even the mayor of Assen finds it a landmark.
Perhaps an extra starting number will be next to it. “Maybe the starting number 63, from Bagnaia, will come next to it.” But it will always be next to it, because that 46 remains forever.