Oh yeah, one year is plenty of time. Just keep riding and building up a good solid base in your legs. Keep going to the group ride. Soon enough, you'll find you can keep up there, and the first race won't be nearly as hard as you think. Although crit-racing will be a different set of demands on your body and you may still well get dropped anyway. As you did with the group ride, keep going back, and you'll find that you improve each time.