Intermediate To Advanced Promotion

Published: April 14, 2013

Or, "Why am I stuck in an intermediate run group?"

Promotion from beginner to intermediate group is different from promotion from intermediate to advanced in that there is no instructor constantly evaluating you once you reach intermediate solo status. At the same time, skills expected of advanced run group drivers are typically rather extensive and most of them need to be learned by experience rather than taught.

Today we are going to look at the intermediate to advanced promotion in more detail.

Why

Usually if you do not have a reason to move from intermediate to advanced, you should enjoy your time in the intermediate group and come back to this page later.

If you do want to move to the advanced group, typically this is for one or both of the following two legitimate reasons:

• Higher run group pace (you are stuck behind cars running higher lap times than you)
• More open passing rules (you want to pass in braking zones and in corners)

These reasons are additive in that if you could pass in corners, you would not be stuck behind people for as long as drivers in intermediate run groups tend to be.

Requirements

Run group placement is generally a function of both car performance and driver skill.

With increased passing opportunities comes increased responsibility. If passing in the corners is allowed and you hold up someone in an advanced group for more than a couple of corners, you can expect an unhappy lecture from that driver at the end of the session.

There is also an expectation that if a pass does happen in a corner, that you know to leave room for the other car (whether that be the faster or the slower car) for both cars to go through the corner safely.

People in less powerful cars tend to need more skill to run in advanced group, because their skill deficiencies are more apparent. Drivers of more powerful cars can get away with more because they tend to not hold up other as much, although in groups where passing in corners is allowed it becomes clear pretty quickly which drivers never take or give passes in corners.

How

If you want to move to the advanced group because you are being held up in the intermediate group, you can usually simply ask the Chief Instructor (or the official responsible for run group assignments and promotions) to move you in the advanced group. From there three things can happen:

1. You will be moved to the advanced group - congratulations!
2. You will be asked to go out with an instructor for a checkout ride. The instructor will evaluate your pace, awareness, on track manners and driving skill. If you pass, you will be moved to the advanced group.
3. The Chief Instructor will give you a list of criteria that you need to fulfill before you can be promoted. Some clubs insist on a fixed number of events in lower run groups before promotion can happen, for example.

If you want to move to the advanced group to enjoy more open passing policy, things get a little trickier. Most organizations provide an opportunity for intermediate drivers to request an instructor. Use this to ask for an instructor to evaluate whether your pace, awareness and skills are sufficient for the advanced group. If you phrase the request as "I would like to find out if I could run in the advanced group" rather than "Please move me to the advanced group", you will get the same feedback but if you do not meet the requirements then technically you do not get a rejection.

If All Else Fails

If you cannot get promoted through the ordinary channels, you might need to get a little more creative. See HPDE Self-Promotion.