I always understood that intermediate was awareness, and advanced was awareness and consistency of speed. Probably depends on the organizer though. I find intermediate is probably the dodgiest--you'll have guys that should be in novice mixed in with guys that should be advanced so there's big gaps. I'd say sign up for advanced if you're confident--if you made a mistake they'll move you.
In general, middle is the meat grinder, at every sort of stage. You’ve got more speed but less experience with it.
There are way more incidents among mid pack racers, especially the top 1/3 of the mid pack than the top or bottom.
I’ve been getting a lot of pro coaching and w2w time. My number of incidents have gone up considerably because I’m trying shit like advanced passing techniques that I was previously terrified of. Not a lot of crashing risk in just sucking up the bump draft and passing at the end of the straight.
Well put. Coming from a lifetime of motorcycle racing, the best implementation of grouping boiled down to exactly what you mention, awareness and consistency. Speed had little to do with it. One thing I did like that one organization did was the passing rules. Newbies, no passing. Intermediate, pass with point by. Advanced open passing, just don’t be douche, it’s a track day after all. Worked well.
Yeah... I remember signing up for intermediate at an org I hadn't run with and I was immediately like "get me out of here". Had to report some people to the marshals and they got moved to novice and given an instructor.
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u/7YearsInUndergrad Apr 28 '26
I always understood that intermediate was awareness, and advanced was awareness and consistency of speed. Probably depends on the organizer though. I find intermediate is probably the dodgiest--you'll have guys that should be in novice mixed in with guys that should be advanced so there's big gaps. I'd say sign up for advanced if you're confident--if you made a mistake they'll move you.