It was the date on the calendar that carried the biggest question mark and also caused the noses of some to screw-up in distaste. MXGP in the confines of a permanent motorsport facility had met with varying degrees of success in recent years and attempts. The advantages of such an arrangement are clear: access, space, and amenities. The disadvantages are mainly connected with the track and the difficulty of making a course that is safe and challenging for the riders – thereby producing memorable action – and doesn’t compromise on atmosphere for the fans. Losail in Qatar has endured longer than any other facility (three editions and counting) for obvious reasons and a set of resources unlike many other circuits in the world. The last venture – at the Lausitzring for the Grand Prix of Germany in 2013 – was a mishit with the stadium seating too far from the track.

Understandably there was concern about the inauguration with MXGP at Assen; a name synonymous with road racing for almost a century and at the current TT circuit (in adjusted guises) since 1955. Particularly with Holland boasting other capable and traditional motocross sites e.g. Lierop. The organisers at Assen however certainly know how to create a motorsport event and they succeeded admirably for what was the sixteenth round of eighteen on the 2015 slate and the last race of the year on European soil…well, sand.

The importation of 25,000 cubic tonnes of sand – some 1500 trucks apparently – through four days and nights showed their dedication towards moulding a racing layout that would fit the standard of the infrastructure around it. The employment of former Youthstream Track Manager Greg Atkins to build and oversee maintenance of the fine sand (many riders described riding the surface as being like a beach race) was a solid move as Atkins’ last gesture before leaving the MXGP paddock was to create the trajectory at Neuquen in Argentina, which many riders have labelled as the best so far this season.

Placing the majority of the track parallel and tight to the grandstand was an inspired – and necessary – strategy. The fans had that important proximity to the action that is still one of the sport’s strongest facets but also a very generous view and – for some – rooftop cover if the weather turned, as it would do by Sunday night. The public responded to what MX2 second moto winner Max Anstie called “a novelty race” with decent pre-event ticket sales and almost filled the stadium section. The effect of the wall of noise, movement and expectation caused Dutch MXGP hero Rockstar Suzuki’s Glenn Coldenhoff to describe the experience as “giving me goosebumps” when the riders ploughed around the corners, waves and single jump from the Gertimmer Bocht chicane. Coupled with the sunshine, the Grand Prix had a pleasant feel-good factor for the European send-off and Coldenhoff’s podium (just his second in a maiden term in the MXGP class) and Red Bull KTM teenager Davy Pootjes holeshots (two from three across the weekend) delivered an extra buzz for the partisan watchers.

There was a compromise with the track. Despite adhering to FIM regulations the lap-time was too short and the wear of six classes (many GP riders again remarking that there were too many sessions once more) on the terrain was evident. MXGP winner and sand master Shaun Simpson commented that the boards covering the asphalt were starting to poke through in sections and the lolloping speed of sand riding was sometimes interrupted with some violent wheelspin as the tyres broke through. The northern zone that folded up and down the MotoGP start grid was also perilously tight against permanent objects such as fences, walls and poles. These were slights that can easily be rectified and are allowed a ‘pass’ for Assen’s first taste of MXGP and allegedly the circuit personnel were pleased post-race with the response to the Grand Prix. It is not hard to imagine Assen carrying the Dutch Grand Prix again in 2016 and with the expected set of refinements and an even bigger crowd (official pegged at 37,000 for the weekend) then it cannot be long until the Motocross of Nations returns to Holland for the first time since 2004.

Another talking point? Despite some hazards (Rockstar Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer, who was third in the second MX2 moto, said there were “kickers everywhere”) there was not an injury to speak of at Assen for a tangible contrast to a sizeable number of Grands Prix in 2015.

To read the rest of the MXGP of Netherlands write-up click HERE

Photo by Ray Archer