Originally Posted by
CliffordK
It certainly would be a way to get beginner riders racing, hopefully with less risk of major pileups.
One of the worst crashes I've seen in a crit was @ Richmond International Raceway. It doesn't get much simpler as a course than this:
I'm certainly not saying it's any more dangerous than your standard office park crit, but I'm not sure about safer either. Perhaps a course like this, being as wide open as it is, ends up with riders being less "on guard" and aware of their surroundings. But that's just speculation.