The Assen TT circuit in the Netherlands has been on the MotoGP calendar for years now. It’s got distinctive corner sequences and technical sections that do need some real practice and repetition to get right.

For sure around here, you need a bike that’s stable on turn in and can take sharp corners as well as chicanes very well. You also haven’t got much respite in terms of long straights, and it’s never too long here before you’re having to get ready for the next turn or kink.

Therefore you need a good setup which you can drive confidently, along with good memorization of the track layout and what comes next, to lap round here. I found a setup that works well for myself personally.

Here is a bike setup for the MotoGP class for Assen:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 1
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 1
    • Front Swingarm compression – 5
    • Front Swingarm extension – 7
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 7
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 3
    • Single shock absorber compression – 4
    • Single shock absorber extension – 7
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 1
    • Trail – 7
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 4
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 5-5-4-4-4-4
    • Final ratio – 4
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 5
    • Anti-wheelie – 5
    • Power mapping – 2

As with a lot of the setups I use, I’ve got the engine braking and anti-wheelie settings quite high – lower them for 4 or 3 if you prefer. If you’re finding the rear skidding and sliding into corners, that’s when it’s time to lower the EB setting.

Also, some players are using a front brake disc one step smaller at this track – the 340 High Mass version. I prefer maximum thickness right now for most tracks as I want stopping power above all else.

But this is a good setup baseline to get going with and worked well for me once I learned the layout properly.

Alternative Assen Circuit MotoGP Class Bike Setup

The above setup has quite a lot of higher or stiffer settings for suspension and geometry. If you prefer a softer feel to the bike handling, here’s an alternate setup that uses different setup values and can still achieve good lap times for someone who likes it:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 3
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 2
    • Front Swingarm compression – 3
    • Front Swingarm extension – 2
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 4
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 3
    • Single shock absorber compression – 5
    • Single shock absorber extension – 3
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 2
    • Trail – 3
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 5
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 5-6-7-7-6-5
    • Final ratio – 4
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 340 mm (High mass)
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 4
    • Anti-wheelie – 4
    • Power mapping – 3

Honestly, this didn’t work so well for me and I couldn’t lap as easily as I could with the first setup. But try it out and see what you think, as different players prefer different setups and have a different riding style.

Moto2 and Moto3 Class Bike Setups For Assen

The Moto2 and Moto3 bikes don’t have such insane acceleration as the MotoGP bikes, so they’re easier to handle round technical circuits like Assen. You’ve got more time to prepare for what’s coming up, and a little more leeway if you come into corners too hot (but over-shooting is still very common for newbies learning the game/tracks).

If you’re wanting a starter/baseline setup, check our generic setup guide which does have custom setups for both Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes to get started. You can then tweak these setups to your own preference, or even import some of the MotoGP setup values as far as they’ll transfer across (there are some differences in setup parameters).

If I find or create more bespoke setups for Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes for this track, I’ll add them here.

Tips For Riding Around Assen TT

The Assen circuit can be a really fun one to lap around once you get used to the corners and braking zones without running off. But getting to that point can take a bit of time, especially on MotoGP 22 which has a reputation for being one of the hardest MotoGP games in the series.

Here are some tips for navigating different aspects of the Assen Circuit:

Accelerator – Assen is another one of those tracks where you need to be really cautious and reserved on the accelerator to avoid over-shooting corners. You’re only really on full power for any length of time on the pit straight (quite short) and the shortish back straight just after the sharp left hairpin in sector 1. The rest of the time, it’s just short dabs or squirts on the power, or just coasting up to the next turn in point.

Back straight – This is the straight we just mentioned, that one you exit onto after the very sharp left hairpin near the start of the lap. The braking point for the right kink that comes after this can be tricky – start thinking about braking when you pass the overhead sign. Also, there’s a left turn immediately after the right kink – don’t get on the power or you’ll over-run. After the right kink, just coast up to the left hand and turn in. It’s the section I continued to get wrong most often when learning the track – I kept applying the accelerator and over-running the left hander.

Final chicane – There’s a little right-left-right chicane section to finish the lap. You can cut the kerbs somewhat to minimize lap time, but it’s still tricky to get the hang of. Right now, I prefer a slow in, fast out approach to this section, braking hard into it and then getting my leaning right to power out of it onto the pit straight. More advanced players focus on cutting the chicane a bit and carrying more speed.

Anti-wheelie – Assen is another one of those tracks where the front wheel is constantly wanting to come up on corner exits. Set an AW value of 4 or 5 on your ECU dashboard to counter this.

Cornering Rhythm – This track’s got quite a lot of successive same direction or opposite direction corners and high speed kinks, so it really pays to learn the layout well and get into a forward thinking rhythm where you’re aware of what comes next and are preparing for the next corner coming right up, as you’re exiting another one.