Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. The OMP First set: suit, boots and gloves, and which colours actually go together
Most people buy racewear in the wrong order. The suit goes in the basket first because that is the bit everyone thinks about. The boots turn up a month later when someone mentions scrutineering. The gloves get bought in a panic the night before a test day, in whatever colour is left in your size. It all works, and you still get out on track, but you end up looking like you got dressed in the dark.
The OMP First range is the entry point for anyone doing that properly for the first time. Suit, boots and gloves, all carrying the current FIA 8856-2018 standard, all designed to be worn together. A First-S suit starts at £320 before VAT, which puts a full approved set within reach of a first season.
Working out which boots and gloves go with which suit is what I spend a fair bit of my week on in the showroom, and it comes up more than you would think. So this page runs in the order I would actually do it: what the three items are, then how they pair up, then what each combination looks like on a person. I am Cameron, by the way.
The set at a glance
- Homologation
- FIA 8856-2018Suit, boots and gloves, all three
- Colourways
- 5 suits, 7 boots, 7 glovesThe palettes do not line up, which is the point
- Materials
- Nomex and suedeTwo layer suit, suede boot upper
- Sizes
- Suit 44 to 64Boots UK 5.5 to 13, gloves XS to XL
What is in the set
Three items, one standard. FIA 8856-2018 is the current homologation for driver clothing and it covers suits, boots and gloves alike, so a set built from these three is accepted anywhere that standard is called for. Each piece carries its own label with its own homologation number and expiry, which is what a scrutineer will actually look at.
| Item | Model | Material | Approval | Colours | Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | OMP First-S | Nomex, 2 layer | FIA 8856-2018 | 5 | 44 to 64 |
| Boots | OMP First | Suede upper | FIA 8856-2018 | 7 | UK 5.5 to 13 |
| Gloves | OMP First | Nomex knit | FIA 8856-2018 | 7 | XS to XL |
One standard across all three, so a set built from these is accepted anywhere it is called for.
The suit
Two layers of Nomex, which is the minimum the standard will accept and the right place to start. The outer is a lightweight woven shell and the inner is a soft knitted fire retardant fabric, joined with ultra-flat seams so nothing rubs when you are strapped in and turning a wheel for twenty minutes.
Pick one up off the rail and the weight is the first thing you notice. For a two-layer suit it is genuinely light, and that comes from the fabric rather than from cutting anything out. The arms float, meaning the sleeve is not stitched flat to the body panel, so reaching for a gear lever does not drag the whole shoulder with it. There is a knitted elastic insert across the back for the same reason.
I had the fishbone quilting on the chest down as a styling detail for a long time. It is not. It is what holds the two layers apart so the air gap between them does the insulating.
Key Features:
- Two layers of Nomex, FIA 8856-2018 approved
- Floating arms with elastic bellows
- Knitted elastic insert across the back
- Ultra-flat anti-rubbing seams throughout
- Boot cut ankles and ribbed cuffs
- Sizes 44 to 64, five colours
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From £320.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
The boots
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From £118.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Suede upper, laces plus a Velcro strap over the top. The strap is doing more than it looks like it is doing: laces alone loosen off over a session, and the strap holds the tongue and the top of the foot in place so your heel stays where you put it.
The sole is thin and narrow, which is the whole point of a race boot and the thing people are most surprised by. You want to feel the pedal through it and you want to be able to get your foot between the pedals without catching the one next door. Anyone who has driven in trainers and then tried these back to back notices it immediately.
There is a wear patch on the outer toe. That is the bit that scuffs on the transmission tunnel and on the underside of the dash, and it is the first thing to go on a boot that does not have one.
Key Features:
- Suede upper, FIA 8856-2018 approved
- Lace closure plus Velcro ankle strap
- Thin narrow sole for pedal feel
- Anti-wear patch on the outer toe
- UK 5.5 to UK 13, seven colours
The gloves
Pre-curved, so the glove is made in the shape your hand is already in when it is on a wheel rather than flat like a work glove. That is what stops the material bunching across the palm, which is where pressure points and blisters come from on a long stint.
The seams are on the outside. It looks odd on the shelf next to a road glove and it is the single best thing about them, because there is nothing pressing into your hand between you and the rim.
Silicone print across the palm and fingers for grip. On a suede or alcantara wheel it makes a real difference in the wet, when everything you touch on the way to the car is damp.
Key Features:
- Soft knit Nomex, FIA 8856-2018 approved
- Pre-curved fingers
- External seams
- Silicone print on palm and fingers
- Elasticated wrist
- XS to XL, seven colours
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From £74.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Which colours go together
Here is the thing nobody tells you before you start ordering. The suit comes in five colours. The boots and the gloves come in seven each, and the three ranges do not use the same palette. So you cannot simply pick a colour and have it run through all three items, and four of the boot and glove colourways have no matching suit at all.
That is not a problem, it just means a set is something you choose rather than something you default into. This is how they pair up.
Four colourways with no suit to match. Pick one of these and you are building a contrast set against a black, silver or navy suit on purpose, which is a perfectly good reason to do it.
Swatch colours are sampled from our own product photography. The colour names are the ones on the product pages, so what you read here is what you pick at checkout.
The five sets, worn
One image per suit colour, each showing the boots and gloves I would put with it. The colourway named under each shot is the exact variation on our site, so you can order what you are looking at.
Black
The safe one, and the one we sell most of. Black hides a season of kerb rubber and knee prints on the sill, and the white shoulder flash keeps it from looking like a boiler suit.
Red
Red suit, red gloves, and the boots carrying the red as a flash on black rather than trying to match it. Matching two reds exactly across suede and Nomex never quite works, so OMP has not tried, and it looks better for it.
Silver
Silver with the black shoulder panels, run against black boots and gloves. It is the sharpest looking set in the range and the least forgiving to keep clean, so know that going in.
Yellow
Listed as Yellow, and it catches people out: the suit body is anthracite with fluo yellow on the shoulders, not a yellow suit. Order it expecting a yellow overall and you will be disappointed, order it knowing what it is and it is the best looking thing in the range.
Fit and sizing
| Piece | Sizes | How it runs | What to measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| OMP First-S suit | 44 to 64 | Cut to be worn over fireproof underwear, so it is meant to be close without being tight. If you are between two sizes and you race in the cold, take the larger one. | Chest and inside leg, off OMP's chart rather than what you take in a jacket. |
| OMP First boots | UK 5.5 to UK 13 | Narrow on purpose, and they should feel snug in the shop. A boot that feels comfortable straight out of the box in your normal size will feel sloppy on the pedals after a few heat cycles, because the suede gives. | Every size carries its EU number too, EU 39 to EU 48, so buy off that if it is the one you know. |
| OMP First gloves | XS to XL | The pre-curve means a glove that feels slightly short with your hand flat is usually right when your hand is closed on a wheel, which is the only position that matters. | Around your palm, not your fingers. |
Buying it as a set
We build the three items into bundles, which comes in a little under buying them separately and saves you checking three stock levels. They are sold in size bands rather than every combination.
As it stands only the larger band is in stock as a bundle. If you need small or medium, buy the suit, boots and gloves individually from the sections above and you will get exactly the same kit.
What else sits at this money
The First set is not the only entry-level approved set we stock, and it is worth knowing what it is up against before you commit.
The Sparco Sprint bundle comes in slightly under the OMP and is the closest direct comparison. The suit is a similar two-layer construction and the difference is mostly cut: Sparco runs a little slimmer through the body, OMP a little more generous in the arm. If you are broad across the shoulders the OMP is usually the easier fit.
The Alpinestars Atom bundle sits above both. You are paying for a lighter, softer suit rather than a higher standard, since all three carry the same FIA 8856-2018. If you do a handful of track days a year the extra is hard to justify. If you are doing a full season of sprints in the summer, you will feel it.
What I would actually buy
The Blue set, and not because blue is my favourite colour. It is the only one of the five where OMP has run the same two colours across the suit, the boots and the gloves, so it hangs together in a way the others have to be helped along with.
If blue is not for you, black suit with Black & White boots and black gloves is the one that will still look right in three seasons. And if you want the set to actually get noticed, the Yellow, which is anthracite with fluo yellow, is the best looking thing OMP makes at this money.
Final thoughts
The First range is where a lot of people start and plenty of them never move on from it, which tells you most of what you need to know. It is the current standard, it fits properly, and it costs about what one decent set of tyres does.
If you are not sure on size, come and try it. Everything on this page is in the showroom and takes ten minutes to work through. Ask for me and I will get the sizes off the rail rather than guess at them.