Written by Andrew Lwanga, Edited by Janvi Unni
Named in honour of the famed Isle Of Man TT, the Dutch "Tourist Trophy" is the only TT left on the Grand Prix racing calendar. Held at the TT Assen Circuit since 1925, the race and racetrack have seen many changes in the last 98 years but the current iteration of the circuit is one of modern standards with a touch of tradition.
With little to no elevation, the circuit turns 18 times, 11 of those go to the right whilst the remaining seven bend left. A combination of sweeping corners and long straights make the circuit a fast and flowing one, perfect for honouring motorsport heritage.
Francesco Bagnaia will go into Assen with a 21 point lead over Ducati stablemate Jorge Martin. In years gone 21 points would have been a comfortable margin but in the sprint race era 21 points is an easily accessible gap. Especially considering that a rider can score a maximum of 37 points in a grand prix weekend, a feat that's been achieved three times this year, including last time out in Germany by Jorge Martin.
With Ducati having a clearly visible mechanical advantage over the rest of the grid whilst also fielding some of the best talent in MotoGP, one would assume that the Bagnaia and Martin are the two title protagonists, keeping alive the tradition of the Spaniard versus the Italian.
Fallen from grace are the Japanese manufacturers, having won three of the four previous Rider's Championships, Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha now have all fallen by the wayside. A fact that has been heavily punctuated by Honda's Marc Marquez horror show at the Sachsenring where he crashed 5 times over the weekend. The Eight time world champion goes into Holland aiming to make amends.
With the summer break just on the horizon, many riders would like to end the first half of the season on a high. Martin and Bagnaia more so than most.