The prospect of your first track day is nerve wracking. The good news is that it's the same for everyone and, likely as not every thing will be OK. You'll come away buzzing and your mates will be sick of hearing how good you were!

Before booking up your first day, it's worth taking a little time deciding which organiser and circuit to opt for. Track days seem to take on a specific flavour depending on the organiser. Each organiser runs their day slightly differently and often attract a particular type of rider / driver.

Before selecting an organiser for your first day, have a ride out to your local circuit and watch a track day in action. See how many groups they run, and how many bikes \ cars are allowed out at a time. While more groups may mean less track time, each group may be smaller. For a first timer, you'll find it easier to learn the circuit without being overtaken left right and centre.

The nature of track days means that occasinally there are some "off's". Watch to see how many people are going off, and how the marshal's deal with them. Serious off track excursions mean that the session will be stopped, reducing the available track time for everybody, and if there are lots of "off's" the greater the chance you might innocently get caught up in one.

Have a look at their instructors, ask how they are qualified and if they are free. Do the organisers mark out the circuit with cones to show turn in and apex points? These will help you as a beginner.

The other main consideration is which circuit to choose for your first time. I'd recommend a circuit with plenty of run off, so should the worst happen, you'll have plenty of time to sort it out before you hit something solid. While you might think you know the layout of a circuit from a map, they all seem to look very different once you are on track.