Kevin Allen wrote:
the guy with the STi is also signed up for the novice school. so are you experienced enough to test & tune, or are you a novice? make up your mind, feller...

It could well be that he's in that middle ground where he has enough experience to be able to tune the car somewhat, while still being new enough to benefit greatly from the novice school. At the very least, it'd be easy enough to set up base tire pressures and so on, and a good semi-novice can probably tell the difference between 2lb increments (or less) and play with them to set the balance.
One big thing I intend to get out of the Test and Tune is making sure I have all my ducks in a row in terms of bringing the right tools and gear, and seeing how long set-up and on-site wheel changing really takes. I don't even plan to put the R-comps on the car until I've played with the new brake pads and locked up the 460-treadwear street tyres a few times. Doesn't take much experience to do that.
I also seriously need to work on getting the feel of the car on the up-side of the traction curve rather than flirting with the down-side. Again, something a good newcomer could probably do and benefit from.
Heck, I'd probably benefit greatly from the novice school too, but it seems kind of unethical for me to sign up given I've run more than a few autocrosses.
If I was forced to put out an opinion (not that mine matters, of course), I would say that I don't care if the person does run NOV, as long as they are familiar enough with the event procedures to slip in smoothly without needing any guidance. That's the main point, surely? That the event runs smoothly with everyone knowing what they're supposed to be doing.
_________________
Martyn Wheeler
AXing Kit's '05 Mazda 3, #29 HStock
(when
The Gonzo Symphonic allows)