Your first track day

By Chris Pollitt · updated 2 November 2026

A track day is simply a day when a circuit is hired out so people can drive or ride their own cars and bikes on it. There's no racing, no timing (officially, anyway) and no licence needed beyond your normal one. You turn up, sign on, pass a noise test, sit through a briefing and then go out in sessions or with an open pitlane until the chequered flag at the end of the day.

It's the best way to find out what your car or bike can really do, and to learn how much you didn't know about driving. Most people come home grinning, slightly tired and already looking at the next date.

Picking your first day

Look for a novice day or a day with free tuition. MSV run novice-only days at their circuits, and several organisers (OpenTrack, Goldtrack, Track Obsession among them) include tuition in the price. Smaller fields help too: a day capped at 30 or 40 cars is far less stressful than a sold-out Saturday.

For a first circuit, choose somewhere wide and forgiving with decent run-off. Snetterton, Donington, Bedford and Anglesey are good choices for cars. Cadwell Park is brilliant but narrow and very hilly, so maybe not day one. Check the noise limit before you book (more on that below), and compare organisers on our track day calendar.

Weekdays are cheaper and quieter than weekends. Evening sessions, which run in summer, are a cheap way to try it without taking a day off work.

Getting the car ready

A track day is harder on a car than years of normal driving, especially the brakes. You don't need a track car, but it should be in good health. The week before:

• Brakes. Plenty of pad left, no judder, and brake fluid that isn't years old. Old fluid boils under track use and the pedal goes long. Fresh, higher-temperature fluid is the best £30 you'll spend.
• Tyres. Good tread, no damage, and the same type on each axle. Take a pressure gauge, because pressures rise a lot once the tyres are hot. Let air out to get back to your normal hot figures, rather than starting low.
• Fluids. Oil at the top of the dipstick (cornering loads can starve an engine that's a litre low), coolant topped up, and no leaks. A car dropping oil will be sent home.
• Tow eye. Know where it is and screw it in before you go out, so recovery is quick if you stop on track.
• Empty the car. Take everything out of the cabin and boot, including floor mats on the driver's side. Anything loose becomes a missile under braking.
• Wheel nuts. Check they're torqued properly, and again at lunchtime.

Bikes need the same thinking: good pads and fluid, decent tyres, no leaks, mirrors and lights taped or removed, and the stand removed or secured if the organiser asks.

What to bring

• Your driving licence. You'll be asked for it at sign-on.
• A helmet. Most car organisers hire them out, but your own fits better. Bikers need full leathers, boots, gloves, a back protector and a helmet in good condition.
• Long sleeves and long trousers for car drivers. Some organisers insist on it.
• Fuel money. Circuit fuel is expensive and a car can use a full tank by lunchtime.
• A tyre gauge, a torque wrench, spare oil, a bottle of water and something to eat.
• A camping chair, a jacket and a waterproof. Paddocks are cold and windy most of the year.

How the day runs

Sign-on opens early, usually around 7.30am. Show your licence, sign the disclaimer and collect your wristband or sticker. Don't be late. If you miss the briefing you won't be allowed out.

Noise test. Most circuits have a static noise limit, often 105dB in the UK, measured near the exhaust with the engine held at a set speed. Some also have drive-by meters at the trackside. Standard cars pass easily; loud aftermarket exhausts often don't. Our noise limits guide explains it properly.

The briefing covers the flags, where you're allowed to overtake, how to use the pit lane, and anything specific to that circuit. Listen to it, even if you've heard it before. Every circuit has its own quirks.

Sighting laps often run first, behind a course car, so you can learn where the track goes. Then the pitlane opens.

Flags you must know

• Yellow: danger ahead. Slow down and don't overtake until you're past the incident.
• Two waved yellows: a serious hazard, possibly blocking the track. Slow right down and be ready to stop.
• Red: session stopped. Slow down, no overtaking, and return to the pit lane.
• Black: usually shown with your number, or pointed at you. Come into the pits next lap; the marshals or organiser want a word.
• Black and orange (meatball): there's a mechanical problem with your car. Pit straight away.
• Blue: a faster car is behind you. Let it past at the next safe place.
• Yellow with red stripes: slippery surface, usually oil or gravel.
• Chequered: the session is over. Do a slow cool-down lap and come in.

Overtaking and etiquette

Car days in the UK usually allow overtaking only on the straights and only on one side (the left is common). The car being passed should lift slightly and give room; the car passing goes past cleanly. Bike days are more relaxed about where you pass but strict about leaving space. It's the organiser's rules that count, so follow the briefing.

Check your mirrors constantly. Nobody is racing, and the fastest way to get sent home is to hold up a queue of quicker cars for a whole lap.

How to drive it

Go slower than you think for the first few sessions. Learn the track first, then work on braking points. Smoothness is faster than aggression: brake in a straight line, turn in once, and only squeeze the throttle when you can see the exit.

Book an instructor for a couple of sessions if it's offered. Twenty minutes with someone who knows the track is worth a whole day of working it out alone.

Your brakes need cooling. Do a slow lap before you come in, don't sit with your foot hard on the brake pedal in the pit lane, and don't put the handbrake on when the discs are glowing.

Money and insurance

A UK car day runs from about £99 midweek to £250 at a popular circuit on a Saturday. Add fuel, tyre and brake wear, and food. Your normal car insurance almost certainly doesn't cover you on a circuit, so read our track day insurance guide and decide whether you can afford to repair or replace the car if it goes wrong.

When you're ready, find a date.