Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. The OMP Tecnica Evo set: what the third layer actually buys you
Nobody replaces a race suit because the old one stopped working. They replace it because of the third stint on a hot day, when the collar is sticking and the sleeves are dragging every time they reach for the wheel.
That is worth saying up front, because the safety label does not change when you move up. The OMP First S and the Tecnica Evo carry exactly the same homologation, FIA 8856-2018. So do the boots at both ends of the range, and so do the gloves. Six products, one standard. The dearer set is not the safer set.
So the question is what the money does buy. I had it wrong to start with. I assumed three layers meant a hotter suit than two, and that the step up was something you put up with for the sake of looking the part. On this range it is the other way round, and once you see why, the whole thing makes more sense. Cameron here, the one who ends up laying suits, boots and gloves out on the counter to check the colours actually go together. That check is most of this page.
The set at a glance
- Suit
- Tecnica Evo7 colourways, sizes 44 to 64
- Boots
- Tecnica Race Boots4 colourways, UK 5.5 to 13
- Gloves
- Tecnica Race Gloves5 colourways, XS to XL
- Approval
- FIA 8856-2018All three pieces, same as the First set
- Set price
- From £1,214.40Every size and colour in stock as I write
What the third layer actually does
Four things change between a First S and a Tecnica Evo. Only one of them is the bit everybody asks about.
The homologation stays where it is
Both suits are FIA 8856-2018. So are the First boots and the Tecnica boots, and both sets of gloves. If a scrutineer is happy with one, they are happy with the other. Buy the step up for how it wears, not for what it is rated to.
The third layer moves air, it does not add bulk
This is the part I had backwards. The Evo is built on a soft knit Nomex with OMP’s Dry System inserts through it, and the whole point of that construction is temperature regulation over a long stint. More layers, more airflow. It is a cooling feature that happens to be made of fabric.
Extraction changes shape
The First S has its shoulder points flattened so a head and neck restraint sits properly on top of them. The Evo has actual grab handles built in. Those are two different features, not a good one and a better one, and which you want depends on whether anyone is likely to be pulling you out of the car.
The suit closes at the ends
The Evo has elasticated closures at both the wrists and the ankles. Small thing on paper. It is the difference between a sleeve that stays where you put it and one you keep pushing back up.
| First S | Tecnica Hybrid | Tecnica Evo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layers | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Approval | FIA 8856-2018 | FIA 8856-2018 | FIA 8856-2018 |
| Published fabric weight | Not published | 400 g/m² | Not published |
| Breathability | Breathable Nomex | Breathable inserts, hips and sleeves | Dry System 3D inserts |
| Arms | Floating, elastic bellows | Floating, elastic bellows | Fully floating |
| Seams | Ultra-flat, anti-rubbing | Ultra-flat, anti-rubbing | Anti-abrasive flat |
| Stretch panels | Incorporated | Incorporated | Advanced |
| Extraction | Flat shoulder points for an FHR | Not stated | Driver extraction handles |
| Cuffs and ankles | Not stated | Not stated | Elasticated closure |
| Sizes | 44 to 64 | 44 to 64 | 44 to 64 |
Every line read off the three product descriptions on this site, not a brochure.
The suit
The Tecnica Evo is the suit I point people at when they have been racing a couple of seasons and know what annoys them.
Pick it up and it does not feel like a heavier First S, which is the first surprise. The knit is softer and it has more give in the hand. Get it on and the sleeves are the giveaway: they are fully floating, so the shoulder stays put when you reach across and the whole suit stops fighting you at the top of the wheel. The stretch panels are more generous than the ones on the First S and they are put where you actually bend.
The Dry System inserts are the reason the third layer is not a penalty. OMP builds the breathability into the knit itself, and the practical result is a suit that holds its temperature over a race rather than over a lap.
Seven colourways, sizes 44 to 64, and every size in every colour is in stock as I write this.
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The boots
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The Tecnica Race Boots are the ones that surprise people most, because a boot is the piece drivers tend to buy last and think about least.
The sole is the thing. It is OMP’s latest generation, thin and high grip, and the difference against a First boot is immediate on the pedals. You feel the bite point through your foot instead of guessing at it. Over a long run that is less about lap time and more about your leg not aching.
The upper pairs an ultra-soft leather inner with a lightweight suede outer, and there are rear ankle bellows so the heel actually flexes. Closure is a quick lace, which is faster to get right than the lace plus strap arrangement on the First boots.
Four colourways, UK 5.5 to 13.
The gloves
The Tecnica Race Gloves are where the money is most obviously visible, if you have a pair of First gloves to hand to compare.
Both are pre-curved with external seams, so the fit philosophy is the same. The difference is what is on the palm. The First gloves use a silicone print. The Tecnica gloves use suede leather with silicone rubber inserts through the palm and fingers, and OMP is explicit that the second job those inserts do is vibration isolation. On a car with any real feedback through the rim, that is the thing you notice at the end of a stint.
The wrist is a straight cut with an adjustable Velcro strap in place of the usual plain elasticated cuff, so you can set the tension and leave it.
Five colourways, XS to XL.
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Which colours go together
OMP describes the Tecnica gloves as matching the Evo suit and the boots, and on two colourways that is exactly right. The rest of the range needs a bit more thought, because the suit carries seven colours and the accessories carry four and five, and they do not line up one for one.
Here is every Evo colourway against the boot and glove in the same colour. The chips are sampled from our own product photography, not guessed at.
Every hex sampled from the variation photography on our own product pages. The colour names are the ones on the product pages, so what you read here is what you pick at checkout.
All seven colourways, worn
Product photography is shot flat so you can see the panels. It is not much help working out what a suit looks like on a person, which is the thing people actually want to know before they spend this kind of money. Here are all seven, each with the boots and gloves I would put with it.
Black & Red
One of only two colourways where all three pieces line up. It hides the wear a season puts on a suit better than the white does, and it is the combination people recognise. My pick of the seven.
Blue & Yellow
The other complete set. The blue is a proper deep navy, the yellow is a genuine fluro yellow-green, and the whole thing is brighter in the flesh than it looks on a screen.
White
The plain white suit run against the dark accessories. There is no white boot in the Tecnica range, so black is the honest answer, and the White & Anthracite glove picks the suit back up.
Black & White
The most understated way to wear this suit. No boot or glove carries the white, so the Black & Anthracite pair is what finishes it, and the result reads as one tonal set.
Navy Blue & White
A navy suit with the navy accessories. The Dark Blue & Cyan pair is the closest the range gets to a match, and the cyan on the boot is the only bright thing in the set.
Navy Blue, White & Cyan
The closest thing to a third full set. The suit carries a cyan flash and so does the boot, so the two pick each other up even though the colour names do not match at checkout.
Fit and sizing
The Tecnica range runs true, which is not something I say about every brand we stock. The thing to get right is the measurement you order against.
| Piece | Sizes | How it runs | What to measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tecnica Evo suit | 44 to 64 | True to the OMP chart. | Chest, waist and height together, not chest alone. |
| Tecnica Race Boots | UK 5.5 to 13 | True to your normal shoe. | The length of your foot in a race sock. |
| Tecnica Race Gloves | XS to XL | True, and snug when new. | Around the palm, knuckles excluded. |
What else sits at this money
The Evo is not the only way to spend this. Two others are worth a look before you commit.
The Tecnica Hybrid is the one to consider if the fabric matters more to you than the layer count. It is a two layer suit at 400 g/m², which is a heavier cloth than the Evo runs, and it takes the same Tecnica boots and gloves. It suits someone who wants the Tecnica look and finish without the three layer construction.
The Tecnica Superlight goes the other way. Three layers like the Evo, built lighter again, and the White & Anthracite colourway pairs with the Tecnica glove of the same name. It is the choice if weight is the thing you are optimising.
If you are reading this and quietly deciding the step up is not for you yet, the OMP First set guide covers the range below this one, and there is no shame in it. Plenty of quick people race in a First S.
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What I would actually buy
The Evo in Black & Red, with the Black & Red boots and the Red & Black gloves. It is one of only two colourways where all three pieces line up properly, it hides the wear that a season puts on a suit better than the white does, and Black & Red is the combination people recognise.
If your car has a colour and you want to run it, Blue & Yellow is the other complete set, and the fluro yellow on it is genuinely bright, nothing like a mustard.
If the budget is the constraint, buy the suit first and keep your existing boots and gloves for a season. The suit is where the difference in a long stint actually lives. Working out those combinations for people is my job here, so if you want a second opinion on a colour or a size before you commit, ask for me.
Final thoughts
The thing I would want someone to take away from this page is that the step from a First S to a Tecnica Evo is not a safety upgrade. It cannot be, because both suits meet the same standard, and OMP is not pretending otherwise.
What it is, is a comfort upgrade aimed squarely at the part of a race weekend where comfort turns into concentration. If you do sprint races and you are out of the car in twenty minutes, the First S does the job and does it well. If you do longer stints, or you race in the summer, or you have spent a session distracted by a collar, the Evo is worth the difference, and the third layer is the reason, not the drawback.
Every piece here is in stock in every size and colour at the time of writing, which does not last, so if a particular colourway matters to you it is worth not sitting on it.
