Originally Posted by dminor

That's a hard one. I raced a season as a beginner and was on track for beginner season champion until a horrific crash in my last race. There is no shame in finishing out the season in beginner class. Some people consider beginner a 'first-timers' class and some consider it a 'first-season' thing. All depends on the local racing culture I guess.

Even with your built-in skill-set from off-road racing, just two years on a bike and racing now makes you a bona fide beginner racer in my book. It's those guys who've been hard-core riders forever but maybe never actually plunked down an entry fee, then go sign up beginner who are true sandbaggers. Enjoy your success. Who knows, it might even help you attract some sponsor notice - - if you're inetersted in that sort of thing.