TT Circuit, Assen, The Netherlands, 26 October 2025: As per tradition, 402 Automotive closes the 2025 Dutch season at Assen’s Cathedral of Speed with another American Sunday. The weather gods sent us many rain showers, and the temperature didn’t rise above 11 degrees Celsius. Despite the typical Dutch weather, the spirit stayed high. The event featured a paddock filled with Detroit’s best, quarter-mile races, car displays, a parade, and, of course, lots of shining vehicles. These are all good reasons why several American lifestyle enthusiasts paid the circuit a visit.

Text: Benjamin Wefer
Pictures: Benjamin Wefer,

The paddock was the perfect place to start Sunday morning, becoming an American automotive haven with something for every taste—brand, model, and year. Car dealers and retailers specializing in American brands, such as Hedin Automotive, were present. Hedin is currently the official authorized dealer for selling the Chevrolet Corvette here in the Netherlands, and brought the latest Corvette along with several other trucks they have for sale.

In addition to dealership displays, spectators could enjoy cars from private collections. From a Mustang to a Camaro, and from the oldest Charger to the new Challenger, a wide range was on display, like a 19545 Studebaker President (only 1171 made in 1958), or a 1964 Studebaker Hawk Grand Turismo (only 1484 made in 1964), or a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach.

One eye-catcher was the Trans-Am Series Dodge Challenger race car. This is a series run in the United States. It is split into TA and TA2 classes for silhouette racing cars. TA class cars are high-performance Grand Touring race cars. They have a tubular chassis and a full-scale replica body, like the Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Camaro (Gen 6), Dodge Challenger (Gen 3), or Ford Mustang (Gen 6). They are powered by a modified Hemi engine with around 850 horsepower. The TA-2 category is nearly identical to TA, but its engine is limited to 480 horsepower and has some other minor requirements. This particular car has been around in Europe for a while and has been seen racing on several tracks. In the Afternoon, driver Vincent Spekschoor made several passes in front of the grandstand to give the spectators a glimpse of the power this car has.

And what’s more American than hamburgers and old-school quarter-mile races! Car owners had 1.5 hours to race each other and see who was the fastest. Not many car owners wanted to race in these wet conditions, and so only 15 made it to the start line. Therefore, no elimination rounds were run to give the participants as much time on the track as possible. Leo, the “burnout king,” Honders, gave the start signal by hand as there was no Christmas tree due to the limited time they had (the circuit was operational for other races). Most cars struggle at the start, but for sure, they had fun peddling down the track, trying to keep it straight.

Spectators still got a lot of good races, including matchups like Camaros vs. Mustangs and Pickup trucks vs. pickup trucks. However, some races were not a perfect match for a heads-up race. So the race master had to go into handicap mode. A shout goes to Leo for good timing and for giving the slower car a fair chance!

The Drag races included bikes, too! Gert Jan Laseur from Laseur Motoren had this covered. Four of the six participants started their tour at Laseur Motoren in Almere. They drove to the Cathedral of Speed in pouring rain and lined up for the last race of the Street Twin Battle. The Twin Battle is a competition for street Harley-Davidsons and Indian Motorcycles. In total, they got five runs on the wet track before going into elimination.

Gert-Jan eliminated René, and Danny defeated Robbie. On the other side, Bo was defeated by Kees. Gert-Jan, as organizer, decided to withdraw from the race. Therefore, the final race went between Kees and Danny. Kees defeated Danny, but as Kees’s bike came on a trailer, the win went to Danny. The Street Twin Battle has few rules, but the fundamental one is that you need to drive your bike to the track. But in the end, all competitors voted, and the decision was final. Danny was the absolute winner of the 2000 euros.

After the drag races, a display followed. This was the moment when the most unique rides were positioned in front of the grandstand. Spectators could see all the vehicles on the track at once. It is a signature moment of every 402 event. After the picture, the cars completed a slow lap for a rolling photo opportunity. This closed the track for the American Sunday activities. Spectators could then enjoy the final races of the VRM series.

If the races weren’t interesting enough, there was still a lot going on in the paddock. American cars came and went, changing the look of the paddock every hour. Also, there was the best of shine competition. This time, Stijn Dekker entertained the crowd and interviewed the car owners, giving them a chance to share their car history and modifications. Today’s winners were a 1980 Chevrolet Monte Carlo (Low Rider), a 1967 Ford Mustang GT500, and a 2014 Ford Mustang.

With American Sunday, 402 Automotive closed its Dutch season. The season featured a wide variety of car events and shows. This edition highlighted the best aspects of the American lifestyle. There were quarter-mile races and hot-lap sessions, with VRM races as a bonus. The next American Sunday is scheduled for 3rd May 2026.

 

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