Your first track day

Everyone remembers their first sighting lap. Here's how to spend the day learning instead of just surviving it.

Before you go

Check the car like your day depends on it, because it does: tyres, brakes, fluids, wheel torque. Bring more water than you think and less ego than you have.

On track

Novice run groups exist for a reason. Smoothness beats speed every session for the first year. Let faster cars by on the straights, look far ahead, and treat every lap as a chance to be neater, not braver.

After

• Re-torque the wheels once they've cooled.
• Note one thing to fix next time.
• Sleep on the adrenaline before you buy anything.

New to it all? Start in a kart first.