TT arches welcome motorists and motorcyclists as they enter Assen, the construction of the fair has started on the Veemarkt site and pontoons are being placed in the water at the Kop van de Vaart for a floating stage. No one can ignore it, the 95th TT Assen is coming.
Monday morning. It is practically impossible to imagine that in a week and a half tens of thousands of people will be walking through the center of Assen, looking for a stage with their favorite music or queuing at a beer carousel. That the meadows around the city fill with countless motorsport fans in tents and caravans.
There is peace on the TT Circuit after the gladiators of the International Dutch Championship road race visited the Cathedral of Speed last weekend. Here there were not a hundred thousand people in the stands, but only a handful. Lovers. No Marquez or Bagnaia on the track, but Julian van Kalkeren and Wayne Tessels.
Everything seems to be going on as usual, but something is slowly starting to stir among the fans of the event. For some, it’s because of four days of partying in the city center, others want nothing more than roaring engines and the smell of burnt rubber, while a third is looking forward to the TT Run.
And yet, the indications that the most beautiful week of the year is coming are there. Road signs warning of closed streets due to the TT Run on Sunday. A motorcycle in the window of the local department store and flags here and there in the shopping streets.
The real work is going on at the Kop van de Vaart. A large crane places heavy pontoons into the water one by one, at the spot where a pancake ship was moored last week. Last year, the Royal Military Band ‘Johan Willem Friso’ kicked off the centenary of the TT there together with Hendrik-Jan Bökkers.
The stage would be a one-off, but the success was great. The stage is now being rebuilt for 600,000 euros, thanks to help from the municipal council, local entrepreneurs and the province. That is why it will once again be the main stage during the festival this year, with room for ten thousand fans.
Davina Michelle will perform here on Thursday evening. An evening later, for example, Douwe Bob and Mooi Wark, while on Saturday evening Hannah Mae and Danny Vera will perform.
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