Assen
—  Municipality / City  —
Assen railway station
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 53°0′N 6°33′E / 53°N 6.55°E / 53; 6.55Coordinates: 53°0′N 6°33′E / 53°N 6.55°E / 53; 6.55
Country	Netherlands
Province	Drenthe
Area(2006)
• Total	83.48 km2 (32.23 sq mi)
• Land	82.09 km2 (31.70 sq mi)
• Water	1.39 km2 (0.54 sq mi)
Population (1 January, 2007)
• Total	64,320
• Density	784/km2 (2,030/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Assen [ˈɑ.sə(n)] ( listen) is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run. Assen has a railway station: Assen railway station.

Population centres[link]

Anreep, Assen, De Haar, Graswijk, Loon, Rhee, Schieven, Ter Aard, Ubbena, Witten, Zeijen, Zeijerveen, Zeijerveld.

History[link]

The history of the capital of Drenthe can be traced back to at least 1258, when a new location had to be found for the Maria in Campis monastery, which was originally built near Coevorden as a penalty for the slaughter in 1227 of the army of the Bishop of Utrecht at the hands of Drenthe's peasants, in what has come to be known as the Battle of Ane. A battle, incidentally, in which the Bishop was killed. His successor ordered the monastery to be built as a penalty. As this monastery was located in a barren peat area, which also happened to flood from time to time, a better location had to be found. A better and especially dryer spot for the Cistercian monastery was found in an area known as Witten, where at the time only a few farms were located. Around it were village communities like Deurze, Witten en Peelo. The latter has a history which goes back to the times from when Dolmens were built, but is presently situated between two new districts of Assen. The "relocated" monastery probably was erected in the 1260s, and over the centuries Assen developed around it.

Monastery[link]

The monastery was built at what now is the Brink (i.e. the grassy area which serves as a symbolic municipal centre) of Assen. At the locations of the monastery now stands the Drents Museum, which was built in 1882 as provinciehuis (i.e. the residence of provincial government). Only the Abdijkerk (Abbey church), the monastery terrain, and bits and pieces of walls remind us of the religious beginnings of the city.

Coat of arms[link]

The Coat of Arms is directly borrowed from the seal of the monastery. Just like the coat of arms of the province of Drenthe - in both cases Mary with child - but Jesus switches knee. At the same time it tells you how the history of the city is connected with the provincial governing board. Which has to do with the fact that around 1600 the abbey property was secularised. Maria in Campis no longer existed, but the buildings did. Because of the central position of Assen and the fact that the government from what was then called de Landschap Drenthe (the Landscape Drenthe) was searching for a location for the government and civil servants, Assen became the seat for, and thus practically also the capital of Drenthe.

[edit] Drents Haagje

Assen really was not a municipality yet, not even ecclesiastical sense. Even though there was an abbey church, Assen fell ecclesiastically and administratively under Rolde. In 1615 Assen got its own preacher. In 1807 Assen administratively freed itself from the control of Rolde when the village got to establish its own municipal authorities. A municipal authority which moreover in most cases operated in the shadow of the provincial government, which always manifested itself prominent in the Drentse Haagje. The municipal authority mainly got there because of matter of provincial governors like governor Petrus Hofstede, to which the city also thanks its uniquely located park (in the center of the city). From that time Assen also obtained its nickname het Herenbolwerk.

City Rights[link]

Assen currently has about 65,000 inhabitants, but it only got a real city scope after World War II. But it has been an official city since 1809. After Coevorden, then a village of about sixteen hundred people, Assen became the second place in Drenthe with city rights, granted by King Lodewijk Napoleon, who had big plans with the village. A plan to make it a real city was set up at the time, but unfortunately for Assen, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was incorporated with France of Napoleon Bonaparte and the plans were abandoned.

As administrative centre, Assen attracted well-to-do inhabitants and with that also new enterprises and initiatives, these contributed to slow but steady increase of commerce, wealth and new establishments; such as a newspaper printing in 1823, a Latin school in 1825, a postal service on Groningen in 1830, a court in 1840, a first beginning for a garrison in 1852 and a railway station in 1870. Another major achievement was the Drentse Hoofdvaart (Canal)which was used for transporting peat and other goods. (On either side of the canal, stately homes were built by the initiators) and the opening of the Noord-Willemskanaal (North-Willems canal) in 1861. The most important monuments of the city are from the nineteenth century.

Industry[link]

Around the 1900 Assen began to play a more prominent industrial role. It was originally a centre of civil servants, but the establishment of a slaughterhouse, dairy factory and iron foundry created more diverse expansion opportunities and encouraged growth. Around 1930 Assen became a central point for health care in the province, by establishing various psychiatric hospitals and healthcare centres.

Growth[link]

After the Second World War, Assen did not have more than 20,000 inhabitants. The Assen TT made the city more widely known, but it was not until the 1950s with the development of an industrial core did Assen begin to grow much more quickly. The Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (Dutch Oil Company) established itself in the city and with that, a trend was set. Now, Assen is not only known because of its TT, Bartje and the Drentse Rijwielvierdaagse. It also is the fastest-growing city in the northern part of the Netherlands, has ample employment opportunities, particularly in the service industry. An unprecedented growth of the city in terms of houses & inhabitants is taking place with environmental issues becoming more urgent.

The city has progressively become more cycle friendly since the 1960s. Assen has an extensive network of off-road cycle paths, the city centre is closed to motor vehicles, and 41% of all journeys in Assen are by bicycle.

Notable people born in Assen[link]

• Klenie Bimolt (born 1945), breaststroke swimmer
• John-Paul Langbroek (born 1961), politician
• Wim Franken (1922–2012), composer and pianist
• Peter Hoekstra (born 1973), association football player
• Inge Dekker (born 1985), butterfly and freestyle swimmer
• Bas Roorda, Dutch football player
• Sergio van Dijk, Dutch-Indonesian football player
• Marc de Maar, Professionel cyclist, Quick-Step.

Tourism and attractions[link]

The TT Circuit Assen is one of the most famous motorcycle racing circuits in the world and is the only circuit that has been in the MotoGP calendar since its beginnings in 1949. It is also regarded as the "Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing."

In November of each year Assen becomes the centre of international attention for the world of Ballroom and Latin American dancers when the city hosts the Assen Dance Festival which includes the "Dutch Open Championships." This is an open event for dancers from all countries and all dance bodies and a magnet for those who are or aspire to be "the best."

Assen is also the capital of the "cycling province" of the Netherlands, Drenthe. There are many high quality cycle paths in the city and surroundings and it is host to regular cycling events such as the Drentse fietsvierdaagse and the Jeugdtour. In 2009 the prologue and opening stage of the Vuelta a España took place in Assen.

See also[link]

• Jewish cemetery

External links[link]

• (Dutch) Official website, assen.nl
• Map of Assen, kaartassen.nl
• TT Circuit Assen, tt-assen.com
• NAM Dutch Oil Company, nam.nl

v t e    Municipalities of Drenthe Aa en Hunze Assen Borger-Odoorn Coevorden De Wolden Emmen Hoogeveen Meppel Midden-Drenthe Noordenveld Tynaarlo Westerveld See also Netherlands Provinces Municipalities

Ben Spies
Spies at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix.
Nationality	American
Born	(1984-07-11) July 11, 1984 (age 27) Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Current team	Yamaha Factory Racing
Bike number	11
Website	BenSpies.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 2008– Manufacturers Suzuki (2008) Yamaha (2009–) Championships 0 2011 Championship position 5th (176 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 41 1 6 1 1 399 Superbike World Championship Active years 2009 Manufacturers Yamaha Championships 1 (2009) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 28 14 17 11 6 462

Ben Spies ( /ˈbɛn ˈspiːz/; born July 11, 1984 in Memphis, Tennessee), also known as "Elbowz" due to his riding style where his elbows protrude outward,^[1] is a professional motorcycle road racer who turned pro in 2000. He won the AMA Superbike Championship for Yoshimura Suzuki in 2006, and successfully defended it in 2007 and 2008.

For 2009 he raced in the Superbike World Championship series for the Yamaha Italia team; winning the championship in his rookie year by six points over rival Noriyuki Haga. He started racing on Yamaha YSR50cc bikes with the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association in Texas when he was 8 years old. Spies currently lives in Italy.

Racing history[link]

Pre-AMA[link]

Spies started riding motorcycles at the age of five and racing with CMRA at the age of eight in 1993. In 1994, he won a YSR championship followed by an 80cc championship the following season. At age 12, he started riding 125 Grand Prix bikes, traveling to WERA races outside of Texas. At age 14, Spies started riding 600s, winning more championships. He signed with Suzuki in 2000 at the age of 15, and began his AMA career.^[2]

AMA[link]

Spies at Infineon Raceway in 2005.

In 2000 Spies raced with the Valvoline Suzuki team. He took a season-best 5th-place finish at the Pikes Peak International Raceway round of the AMA 750 Supersport series, won the AMA Horizon Award for road racing. In late 2000 he qualified on the front row for his debut in the AMA Supersport Championship series.

Again with Valvoline Suzuki in 2001, Spies won the Pikes Peak round of the AMA 750 SuperStock Championship, and took four additional series podium finishes. American Suzuki then removed him from the team and placed in with Attack Suzuki.

For 2002 Spies joined the Attack Suzuki team, paired with Jason Pridmore. He earned three top-five finishes in AMA Supersport, and four top-five finishes in AMA Formula Xtreme. He was troubled by a knee injury for much of the season.

Now with American Suzuki team, Spies won the 2003 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship with five wins and two additional podium finishes. He also contested the AMA Supersport series, earning a win at Road Atlanta and taking two additional podium finishes. His best AMA Superbike result this year was seventh-place at Daytona Intl Speedway

Again with American Suzuki team in 2004, Spies raced in the AMA Supersport Championship, earning a win at Infineon Raceway and taking two additional series podium finishes. He earned wins in the AMA Superstock Championship races at California Speedway and Road Atlanta, and earned two additional podium finishes in the series.

In 2005 Spies won the AMA Superbike race at California Speedway and earned 13 additional podium finishes. He was runner-up for the AMA Superbike title, and raced in AMA Supersport, earning five top-five finishes.

Spies joined the Yoshimura Suzuki team in 2006. He won the AMA Superbike Championship title with 10 wins and seven additional podium finishes. Spies took six successive wins early in the 2006 season, and went on to win the title by 649 points to 641. In total he took 7 poles and 17 podiums,^[3] and lead the most laps 10 times. Spies also raced in select AMA Supersport events, earning a podium finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

2007 produced one of the tightest championship battles in the history of the series, Spies winning a second AMA Superbike Championship by a single point over Mladin.^[4] Spies collected seven wins and 12 additional podium finishes during the season. He captured Superbike pole position at nine events, and also won the AMA Superstock title with seven wins and seven pole positions.^[5]

In 2008 Spies won his third straight AMA Superbike Championship to become only the fourth rider in the history of the series to win the title three consecutive times (after Reg Pridmore, Fred Merkel and Mat Mladin). This included an AMA Superbike record of seven successive wins.

MotoGP Appearances[link]

Spies started as a wild-card in place of injured Loris Capirossi at the British GP on 22 June 2008. An outing that saw him qualify in 8th on the grid and finish in 14th place, scoring his first MotoGP points. This was in addition to two pre-planned rides at both U.S. rounds. He tested for Rizla Suzuki at Indianapolis on July 2, 2008, in preparations for the new U.S. Grand Prix. Top ten finishes followed at both Laguna Seca in 8th and in 6th at Indianapolis.

He was not offered a full-time ride by Suzuki for 2009 with all the success he gave to Suzuki and had an option year in his contract. The decision was made by Mel Harris who now is no longer with Suzuki. Masayuki Itoh retired because of the departure of Spies.

World Superbike (WSBK)[link]

Spies at the Assen round of the 2009 season.

On October 1, 2008, it was confirmed that Spies would join the Superbike World Championship for the 2009 season, riding for the factory Yamaha Italia team.^[6] He took pole position for his very first race meeting. He ran off the track on the first lap in race one (recovering to finish sixteenth despite a second incident) but was victorious in race 2 to become the first American to win a WSBK race since Colin Edwards in 2002.

Spies further impressed the world motorcycle racing community by winning both races of the second round in Losail, Qatar. En route, he again secured pole, the subsequent race wins, the fastest lap and the outright circuit lap record.

Spies made history on May 30, 2009 at Miller Motorsports Park. Winning his 7th consecutive pole position during Saturday's Superpole qualifying, Spies broke the long-standing record of 6 consecutive poles set in 1991 by fellow Texan Doug Polen. The pole set a number of records, including most consecutive pole positions in a season, most poles to start a season, and most in a row by a rookie. On October 24, 2009 at Portimão Circuit in Portugal he set a new record securing his 11th pole of his rookie season. This despite having no previous experience at the majority of circuits on the WSBK calendar.

Spies at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix.

On October 25, 2009 at the final round of the Championship at Portimão, Spies was crowned the 2009 Superbike World Champion after winning Race One, in conjunction with a fall from title rival Noriyuki Haga, and a solid 5th place in Race 2.^[7]

MotoGP[link]

2009[link]

On October 1, 2009, Yamaha officially confirmed that Spies would replace James Toseland at the Yamaha Tech 3 team for the 2010 MotoGP Championship.^[8] Two days later it was confirmed that Spies would ride as a wildcard for the Yamaha Sterilgarda team, in the final MotoGP race of the season at Valencia in November,.^[9] Spies began the race from 12th place, but made his way through the pack, finishing in seventh place.^[10]

2010[link]

Spies started the season with fifth place at Losail, his best ever on a MotoGP bike, before retiring in the next two races with a mechanical problem at Jerez and a crash at Le Mans.^[11] Spies took his first MotoGP podium at Silverstone in Great Britain, taking a third place finish. Spies took second place from pole at home at Indianapolis. He finished the 2010 MotoGP season in sixth place, securing Rookie of the Year honors.

2011[link]

Spies moved to the factory Yamaha Motor Racing Team alongside 2010 champion Jorge Lorenzo in 2011. He started the season with a sixth place finish in Qatar, before crashing out of the next two races at Jerez and Estoril. After another sixth place in France, Spies achieved his first podium of the season with a third place in Catalunya, having held off Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.^[12] Spies suffered another crash at the British Grand Prix, crashing out at Turn 1 in wet conditions. Two weeks later, Spies narrowly missed out on pole position for the Dutch TT in Assen; he qualified second, just 0.009 seconds behind Gresini Racing's Marco Simoncelli.^[13] Spies and team-mate Lorenzo jumped ahead of Simoncelli at the start, and took the first two placings into the first corner. Simoncelli and Lorenzo later made contact and both riders fell, giving Spies a 2.5-second lead after the first lap.^[14] Spies extended his advantage to almost eight seconds by the end of the race, and took his first MotoGP win in the process.^[15]

After his win at Assen, Spies finished each of the following five races in the top five, taking fourth places at Mugello and Laguna Seca, fifth places at the Sachsenring and Brno, and concluding the streak with his third podium of the season – a third place^[16] – at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Having qualified second, Spies made contact on the first lap with Dovizioso, and as a result, fell to as low as ninth place before making several late braking moves to progress through the order. Sixth at Misano was followed by fifth at Aragón and another sixth at Motegi helped to maintain his fifth place in the championship. At the Australian Grand Prix, Spies crashed during qualifying at over 250 km/h (155 mph), sliding into the gravel, resulting in a concussion and tearing to his ribs, but managed to qualify seventh on the grid.^[17] However, his injuries forced him to pull out on race morning, and were also a factor in his similar withdrawal from the Malaysian Grand Prix, having qualified 16th out of the 17 riders and after two further practice crashes.^[18] Spies finished the season with a second place finish in Valencia, missing out on victory at the line, to Casey Stoner by just 0.015 seconds, having capitalised on a previous error by Stoner to take the lead.^[19]

His biography "Taking It To The Next Level" was published by David Bull Publishing and was launched at the Indianapolis Grand Prix on August 26, 2011.

Career statistics[link]

All-time stats[link]

• * Season in progress.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

• * Season in progress.

Superbike World Championship[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

See also[link]

• List of AMA Superbike champions
• List of Superbike World champions

References[link]

External links[link]

• BenSpies.com – Official site
• Ben Spies profile at AMAProRacing.com
• Ben Spies profile at WorldSBK.com
• Ben Spies profile at MotoGP.com

v t e Yamaha Factory Racing Ben Spies (11) • Jorge Lorenzo (99) Grand Prix motorcycle : Yamaha YZR-M1