Cool. If you're not looking to mod just yet, just remember. They aren't super capable in stock form like a regular 600, 750 or 1000. If at any point you find yourself saying, "I can't seem to get it to do XYZ" it may not be your skills... it may be a shortcoming of the bike. Which is almost never the case with a larger modern sport bike.
The beauty of the little bikes is that you really learn the art of riding. They force you to focus on things like body position, braking and corner speed. As others have mentioned, the R3 shines in the corners and on the brakes, but that comes with time.
The best tips I can tell you after racing little bikes for years is...
1.
Hold your line - You mentioned you're in Novice, and that's great. Just don't think that you owe it to anyone to "stay out of their way" because you're on a smaller bike. The best thing you can provide anyone else on the track with you is a consistent bike to pass in the long straights, and when riders spend more time concentrating on "holding others up" they end up running even slower, and more sporadic lines. Just enjoy the ride, and work on yourself. Everyone else will work around you as they need to, and you'll eventually be passing them in the braking zones.
2.
Don't coast - Unlike your larger bikes, you HAVE to be either on the gas or on the brakes. You can't afford to coast on a little bike like you can on a larger bike... it will literally take you half a track in some cases to build up momentum again. It can also put you in an odd spot with all of the other bikes on the track moving a lot faster.
3.
Watch your markers - Learn to read brake markers, and don't be shocked when you're going deeper into turns than ever before with the R3. The great thing about the smaller bikes is that you're likely going to be moving slower on the track than you would be with a larger bike,so you'll see more. Literally, you'll see asphalt patches, billboards, and all sorts of other markers you never saw on a larger bike simply because you're not going quite as fast. Use that to your advantage, and really get some solid brake, apex, and throttle markers dialed in.
4.
Body position - Being smooth critical on the little bikes, simply due to the chassis design being less aggressive and rigid. When you move around too much on a small bike you really feel it in the chassis, so you're forced to be smooth and calculated. Something that really translates well to all the other bikes you'll ride.
5.
Send it -
You're likely going to be able to get on the gas a full 1-2 seconds sooner than you think you can with the R3. It's unlikely to spit you off like a big bike, or spin up a tire, so you can be a lot more Canadian with the throttle than you think you can. Give it a shot after you get comfortable, and you'll find that the power of the R3 is super forgiving, and you can get some nice drives out of the turns.
