• Check your tyre pressures. I had 31-32 psi front and 30-31 psi rear. Quite important to make the best of it and easy to check.
• Have good tyre tread. They don't need to be new and from what I've seen the the middle doesn't need to be new but the outsides should be quite chunky.
• Take cable ties and gaffa tape. Cable ties are brilliant, use them to hold your fairing/screen together after you remove your mirrors. Use the tape to tape up your lights, indicators, numberplate and cover your speedo (you don't need that distraction). Take spare ties and tape to share out and you'll make lots of new friends.
• Take a packed lunch that includes a bottle of water. When it runs out you can refill it in the bogs and have cold drinks available all day.
• Take enough chocolate bars or banana's to eat one between every session.
• If you can, go in a van or car with trailer. Then you can carry spare fuel, loads of tools and if you do have a mishap you can still get home.
• Follow the cones. If there is a turn in cone way out to the side of the track you may think that you can corner from the middle of the track, which is probably where you have naturally ended up from the previous bend. To start with, aim for the cone. If that means moving from one side of the track to the other whilst going in a straight line, do it. And turn in when you reach the cone. You may think that you are going too far but you will actually be on the racing line. As you get faster you need to be nearer to these 'turn in' cones in order to make the corner. It's the best way to get your knee down too.
• Start slow. As mentioned above, aim for the cones and work on that for the first session. You'll soon start to remember where they are and then you can start speeding up. I've seen someone slow down for a corner and turn in at the cone but do it from the middle of the track and then complain that they aren't getting their knee down. If they went wider, they could go faster and would be forced to turn harder.
• Look around the corner. You will stare at the tarmac 15 feet in front of you and not know you are doing it. Try and look around the corners, right 'round them way ahead. You'll be amazed how much easier it is to go faster when you do this.
• Get all your braking finished before you turn in so that the front wheel is only doing one job. Get the throttle on slightly just on tick over so that the engine is neither braking nor accelerating, your corner will be nice and smooth and then you can lightly feed in the power to get out again.
• Tuck in on the straights. You might feel daft but you will go faster and you will get less tired. Fighting the wind is tiring for your muscles so give them a break. Also, on a smaller bike it's more important, especially if you want to carry the corner speed down the straights and shock the hell out of bigger bike riders.
• Know where your bike is making peak bhp. If it's at 11000rpm then theres not much point revving it to 13000 in every gear, just change at 11500 because the acceleration will probably be tailing off by then.
• Go with a friend or make friends with someone who's there on their own. All of the people in the Novice/New/Slow group will probably have not done this before either and will be happy to chat.
• Speak to the instructors. They are paid to help you so make use of them. I intend to get some 1 on 1 tuition at every track day I attend, they know what they are doing so make use of it. Even if you just follow one for 5 laps you will probably improve your times. On my first track day, first session I was struggling to keep up with an RGV250. By the last session I was 10 seconds a lap faster, probably because I'd asked for help.
• Ask anyone anything. People at trackdays seem happy to help those who know less than them so take advantage.
• Enjoy it.

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