Motorcycle racing came to Assen on 11 July 1925, when the Assen & Omstreken motorcycle club organised the first Dutch TT on a 28.4 km triangular street circuit between the towns of Borger, Schoonloo and Grolloo. The Dutch government had relaxed laws permitting motorsport on public roads, enabling the club to stage a full road-race meeting. The event ran each year through the 1930s, was suspended for the duration of the Second World War from 1940 to 1945, and then resumed in 1946.
When the FIM launched the Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship in 1949, the Dutch TT was included from the very first season, giving the event its world-championship standing. No other circuit has appeared on every subsequent calendar.
The original 1925 layout was a 28.4 km triangle of public roads. From 1926 to 1955 the course was reconfigured to a 16.536 km rectangular loop through De Haar, Hooghalen, Laaghalen and Laaghalerveen. In 1955 a shorter 7.705 km layout was introduced that still used public roads but more closely resembled a purpose-built track. The transformation to a fully enclosed permanent circuit was completed in 1992, meeting the safety and infrastructure standards required by modern grand prix racing while retaining the character of the earlier layouts.
For most of its history the Dutch TT was staged on the last Saturday of June, making it one of the few grands prix not held on a Sunday. From 2016 the event moved to Sunday, aligning with the rest of the MotoGP calendar. The race weekend retains a distinct atmosphere rooted in Dutch motorcycle culture, with camping, club gatherings and large travelling supporter groups making the Assen weekend one of the most attended on the entire MotoGP circuit. Recorded spectator attendance reached 91,429 in 2007 and has surpassed 105,000 in multiple years from 2016 onward.
The event has carried a range of title sponsors across its championship history. It ran without an official sponsor from 1949 through the early 1990s, using names such as Grote Prijs van Nederland der K.N.M.V. and Dutch TT Assen. From 1993 the race acquired tobacco sponsorship through Lucky Strike, followed by Rizla+ (1998–2000), Gauloises (2001–2005), A-Style (2006–2008), Alice (2009) and TIM (2010). Iveco backed the event from 2011 to 2014, and Motul has been the title sponsor from 2015 through to at least 2024. The 2025 edition was named the Motul Grand Prix of the Netherlands, with Tissot taking over for 2026.
The Dutch TT's unbroken run since 1949 is unmatched in grand prix motorcycle racing. The circuit has hosted every significant name in the sport's history and has been the scene of dramatic title battles across multiple eras. The combination of its heritage status, high spectator attendance and a venue contract running until at least 2031 ensures Assen remains a fixed point on the world championship calendar.