My humbling first track day on the BMW S1000RR

Eight years on the road, and I thought I knew a thing or two about riding. Then I did a 20-minute track session. Let's just say I discovered a whole new level of "humble." I'm sharing my first-ever track day experience – the good, the bad, and the utterly terrifying – in case you're thinking about hitting the track yourself.

Safety is a huge deal, and rightly so. Forget just a few marshals waving flags; this is a high-tech operation. Helmet stickers, transponders, a dedicated control room with CCTV watching every single corner. They even have cameras that automatically zoom in if you drop below 30 km/h. They even have cameras that zoom in if you’re going too slow, which made me nervous after having just completed my first and possibly record slowest lap.

They've got everything you could possibly need available: Alpinestars leathers, boots, tyres – they even have a fleet of S1000 RR hire bikes. A mandatory first-timer briefing covered all the track procedures, flags, and what to do if you, say, accidentally wander onto the wrong part of the track (hypothetically, of course). We missed the orientation laps due to filming – the sacrifices we make for your viewing pleasure! You really should do those orientation laps, though. Trust me.

Riders are split into four groups based on speed. I started, and let's be brutally honest, stayed in the slow (white) group. Humbling doesn't even begin to describe it. It's like being in a school sports day where everyone else is an Olympic athlete and you're just trying to remember which way the track goes. Gates open at 6:30 am, registration is pretty smooth, and if you bring your own bike, it gets scrutineered to make sure it's track-ready. I checked out the simulator – great for learning the track layout beforehand, though I discovered that virtual corners are slightly different than real ones. Turns out, you can lean quite far in the simulator without consequences.

I rode the BMW S1000 RR. Absolutely amazing! That raw power on the track is addictive. Pushing the bike harder than ever, realising how much more it's capable of than I am. I tried to look cool, but I think I looked more like a startled cat clinging to a sofa.

So, what's it actually like on track? Pure, unadulterated adrenaline! I was definitely nervous beforehand, but those first two laps hooked me. Focusing on lines, speed, gear changes, and just trusting that everyone else knew what they were doing was incredibly intense. The hardest part? No mirrors! I kept instinctively trying to check them, which is a bit of a problem when there's nothing there. It's a weird feeling, like you're riding blind, but one person said to me, ride your own ride, look out for yourself and trust that the person behind you is doing the same, and that really helped.

Track riding is unlike anything else I've ever done on a bike. Highly recommend it for skill improvement, or just an epic day out in a safe and controlled environment. Just don't expect to be fast on your first try. Or maybe ever. But hey, at least you'll have a good story to tell, and you'll probably learn a whole lot about your own riding. And you'll definitely have a newfound respect for anyone who races motorcycles.

 MEGA run track days at, Sydney Motorsport Park - www.smsprd.com/smsprd-ride-days Phillip Island - www.phillipislandridedays.com.au