Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. Is Fire-Resistant Underwear Mandatory In UK Motorsport?
Racewear, event rules
The honest answer to this one is that it depends on what you are entering, and anybody who gives you a straight yes or no without asking that first is guessing. Underwear, socks, balaclava, gloves and shoes each have their own clothing article, the requirement changes by discipline and by class, and your championship can demand more than the national minimum.
So this page does two things. It tells you where to look for your own event, which is the only answer that stays right, and it tells you what a full set actually is, because that part does not change and it is where most orders go wrong.
Short version if you are in a hurry: at national level for speed events it is strongly recommended and never mandatory, circuit and rally have their own chapters that do not simply repeat it, and international events run to FIA Appendix L. Ring us with your class and we will read the right article with you.
- There is no single yes or no: each clothing item has its own article, by discipline
- Speed events at national level strongly recommend it and never make it mandatory
- Circuit and rally have their own chapters and do not simply repeat the speed event wording
- Your championship regulations sit on top of the national rules, and the stricter one wins
- A full set is four items, and the bundles contain three: socks are always bought separately
- If you choose to wear it, wear the approval your event would ask for, which is FIA 8856-2018
Where the answer actually lives
We are not going to print a grid of every discipline against a yes or a no. Any table like that is out of date the season after it is written, and a table is exactly the thing people screenshot and take to scrutineering. What follows is where to look instead, which stays right.
Speed events
Hillclimb and sprint. The national regulations, Chapter 14 Appendix 2, strongly recommend flame-resistant underwear and socks across the speed event categories. It stops at recommended.
Circuit and rally
Circuit Racing and Special Stage Rally have their own competitor equipment articles, Chapters 12 and 13. They do not simply repeat the speed event wording, so read your own one.
International
FIA events run to the current Appendix L plus the championship regulations. Check whether the event wants 8856-2018 specifically or still accepts the older 8856-2000.
There is a reason worth understanding behind the strong recommendation on speed events. The whole system works in layers, and every flame-resistant layer between you and a fire buys time. The rule writers are telling you something without mandating it.
If you are entering something international for the first time, send us the regulations. It takes ten minutes to read the clothing article properly and it is a good deal cheaper than arriving with a set that gets turned away.
What a full set is, and the bit the bundles leave out
This is the part that costs people money, and it has nothing to do with the rule book. A full set of racing underwear is four items: a long sleeve top, long johns, a balaclava and socks.
Every underwear bundle we sell contains three of them. Look at the part numbers on any of the bundles below and you will count three SKUs, not four. The socks are not in there. They are cheap, they are the item that wears out first, and they are the one people arrive without.
| Item | Label to look for | In the bundles? |
|---|---|---|
| Long sleeve top | FIA 8856-2018 | Yes. Buy it long enough to overlap the johns at the waist |
| Long johns | FIA 8856-2018 | Yes. Full length, not shorts |
| Balaclava | FIA 8856-2018 | Yes. Open face and full face both exist, check which your helmet wants |
| Socks | FIA 8856-2018 | No. Always a separate line on the order |
The bundles
All four carry FIA 8856-2018, which is the current standard and the one to buy if you are buying now. The OMP First bundles are the value end, the Sparco RW-4 sits alongside them, and the Alpinestars Race V3 is the expensive one.
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The socks, and buying items on their own
If you are completing a set, or replacing the one item that has worn through, everything is available singly. Socks first, because that is the gap in every bundle.
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The OMP First bundle at GBP 180 with a pair of OMP First socks at GBP 25.20 is the sensible way in, and it is a genuine full set rather than three quarters of one. Garreth would spend the difference on the Sparco RW-4 if you are in the car often, because the top and johns wear better over a season. Either way, do not leave the socks off.
Recommended is not the same as unregulated
Here is the trap in a rule that says recommended. It does not mean any base layer will do. If you choose to wear underwear, wear something carrying the approval your event would ask for if it asked at all.
Ordinary thermal base layers add heat, have never been tested as racing protection, and some synthetics behave very badly indeed near flame. A running top under a race suit is worse than nothing, because it feels like you have done something.
Not everything sold in a racing underwear category is homologated either. Check the label says FIA 8856-2018, and check the garment itself carries it, not just the listing.
Try the suit over the underwear, not on its own
Full length underwear changes how a suit fits, and people size the suit first and the underwear afterwards, which is the wrong way round. The layers have to work together, and a suit that fits beautifully over a t-shirt can be tight across the shoulders over a proper top.
If you are near a size boundary, bring both to the showroom and try them together. Cameron would rather spend fifteen minutes on that than process a return, and he will tell you if the honest answer is to go up a size on the suit.
Questions we get about racing underwear
Is it mandatory for every UK event?
No. At national level for speed events it is strongly recommended and does not become mandatory in any class. Circuit racing and rally have their own chapters with their own wording, and international events run to FIA Appendix L. Then your championship regulations sit on top of all of it. Tell us the event and the class and we will read the right article with you.
Do the bundles include socks?
No, and that is the single most useful thing on this page. Every bundle is three items: a long sleeve top, long johns and a balaclava. A full set is four. Count the part numbers on the bundle listing and you will see three. Add a pair of socks to the same order.
Will ordinary thermals do if it is only recommended?
No. Recommended describes whether you have to wear something, not what that something can be. Ordinary base layers have never been tested as racing protection and some synthetics behave very badly near flame. If you are wearing it, wear FIA 8856-2018.
What is the difference between 8856-2000 and 8856-2018?
They are two generations of the same FIA clothing standard. 8856-2018 is the current one and what to buy today. Some events still accept the older 8856-2000 and some specifically require the newer, which is why it is worth reading the exact wording in your regulations instead of assuming.
Do I need a full face or an open face balaclava?
That depends on your helmet and on what you find comfortable, and both are approved. An open face suits a full face helmet with a wide aperture and most people find it cooler. Tell us the helmet when you order and we will say which we would send.
Can I come and try a set on?
Yes, and bring the suit if you already have one. Underwear changes how a suit fits and the two want trying together. That is a fifteen minute job in the showroom and it settles the sizing properly.
Tell us the event and the class
Send us what you are entering and we will read the right clothing article and tell you what it asks for. If you have the championship regulations, send those too, because they are the ones that get applied on the day.
Ring 0115 9893488 or come to the showroom, where you can try a set on under a suit and settle the sizing in one go.
Underwear requirements vary by discipline and by championship, and the answer is in your own regulations rather than in a shop. Send us the series and Garreth and Cameron will go through what you actually need before you buy anything.
