The TT posters have been hanging in the hall of their house in Westerbork since 2014 and in their kitchen there are paintings by Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi. Ilona Rispens and her boyfriend Johan are motorsport fans through and through, and especially the TT. This year, as usual, they will sit on the wheelchair stand at the Stekkenwal for three days.
“A fantastic place,” says Ilona with a big smile. “You see the drivers approaching the bend at high speed from a small bend, braking hard and turning. But from our position we also have a good view of the ticket control at the entrance, where you see special people wearing caps, shirts and scarves entering all day long.”
She can sit in that perfect spot thanks to her boyfriend Johan, who is in a wheelchair. “Every year you meet the same people here. We don’t exchange numbers or are friends on social media, but you always get talking straight away.”
Although the passion for the TT runs deep, Ilona went to the TT for the first time when she was 18, now nine years ago. “We lived in Assen at the time, my father was a volunteer at the TT Circuit and every Grand Prix was watched on television at home. I wanted to go to the TT myself, but my parents wouldn’t let me until that year.”
As a child she grew up in Smilde, where every year a colorful procession of TT goers passes in front of their house. Later the family moves to Assen, where during the TT week you see the campsites full, the terraces full and where you see people strolling through the streets in the evening and at night.
As a girl, Ilona is a big fan of Valentino Rossi. And the first year she sits on the slope, all the pieces of the puzzle fall together. Il Dottore wins in Assen, in front of his fan. “That immediately made it a special TT, although I did not realize at the time that I was infected with the TT virus.”
It’s the time when Rossi and Márquez have iconic battles on and off the track. In 2016, Rossi crashes in Mandeveen, in front of Ilona. “Then you suddenly saw many Rossi fans leaving the circuit. I stayed seated, my love for the sport is too great for that.”
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