Running Experts and Amateurs Together In Practice

[CounterSteerer]

This question was asked of me recently and I thought I would share it with everybody. What are the pros and cons? Is it even possible to fit it in the practice schedule?
I think it would be safer. However, I believe it gives me an advantage to be able to practice with riders who are more experienced and faster than I am (me being an amateur).

[rwracer]

There isn't enough practice anyway.  They need to break out MW's and HW's first.  LW's already have their own practice but HW's don't.  So those who have two bikes only get to practice on one of them.

If Am's are finding it scary maybe it's because they're being freight-trained by an Ex on a 1000 while riding their stock 600.....  just a thought.

[HAWK]

In the midwest the schedule generally states that experts and amatures practice seperatly until raceday and then they end up combining groups 1&2 and 3&4 for 15 minute sessions instead of 5 minute sessions. Again this is different from region to region but at least here you have to race with experts and amatures on the same track. I would much rather practice with the experts (I'm an amature)  than race with them so why on earth would I want to race with them and practice without them?  Most riders I know run just a little harder in a race than they do in a practice. Just my 2 cents.

[r6_philly]

they have never combined ex/am practice here in Mid Atlantic where the grids are pretty big.

It is a bad ideal if you have more than 20 riders I think.

The problem between am/ex is not necessary speed and laptime, it is predictability. If I see a white plate on track, no matter how slow they are, I can somewhat trust that they have enough experience riding on a track to not go out of their way too much, get too out of line. Where as a AM could be his 2nd time ever on the track, and he could make some mistakes without warning, provocation, or reasoning.  That is where the danger is. We depend on each other track, I would pass experts much closer than I would am's.

[KBOlsen]

MW splits EX and AM... and then odd/even.  That's how 1&2/3&4 get combined.  You won't see MW/HW/UL EX and AM on the track at the same time during practice.

Group 5 is LW... which is all mooshed up together.  If folks continue to migrate to the LW classes, it could potentially end up being split, too.

[SVbadguy]

In the Mid-Atlantic LW practice is almost always combined.  On a regular weekend there can still be more than 40 riders, amateurs and experts, in one session.  However, for me I haven't had any safety related issues with it.  The density just sucks if you end up where everyone has bunched up.   One year at Barber there were 80 or so bikes in the LW practice. 

I think CCS has used good judgement when deciding whether or not to split the LW sessions this year.

[backMARKr]

As another amateur in the MW region, I have to agree with Hawk. If I am going to be on the track at the same time as the experts --- I need to acclimate to that and be prepared for it. I assume that experts where not always experts and for a least a short time they had to do the same thing.  On a personal note, I also think that running with the experts raises the benchmark for me --- call it peer teaching (sorry I am teacher and its an occupational hazard).  ::)

As a tall skinny expert from Pekin keeps telling me - its the only way you get used to running with the fast crowd.

PS -- I cannot comment for the other regions as I have no experience there.

[EX_#76]

Keep em together, I think it is good for the fast riders to see what all of us slow riders are doing around the track.  It can give a person a better view of how to safely get around someone with lines somthing less than consistant.  the groups will be mixed if they are small anyway (like in the LW group)

[HAWK]

Keep em together, I think it is good for the fast riders to see what all of us slow riders are doing around the track.  It can give a person a better view of how to safely get around someone with lines somthing less than consistant.  the groups will be mixed if they are small anyway (like in the LW group)

Guy, I'm not sure you can count yourself among the "us slow riders" group  anymore.   

[cehoward600rr]

Being a real , real new novice/amateur, all I can say is the experts pass me swiflty, and cleanly.  In addition, I see more moves/lines/angles from the experts too..

And old adage of mine is that if I had the choice, I would rather be a "bum around kings" than a "king around bums"..Hope I didn't lose anybody with that one...

Plain talk, IMO, amateurs, praticing & racing with experts is the equal to being a "bum around kings"..

[r6_philly]

I think experts hate practicing with amatuers. amatuers dont mind practicing with experts.

[CounterSteerer]

I think experts hate practicing with amatuers. amatuers dont mind practicing with experts.

That's the census with the amateurs.  Any more Experts want to comment.