The main difference between a race foil and beginner foil is the speed at which each one goes. A beginner foil will hold you up on the foil at very low speeds, but the wing area is too large to get speeds much above 20 knots. Crashes are much softer when riding at a slower speed.
The difference between a slow beginner foil and any other foil is massive, and although it has less of a glide feel than a race foil, it still provides an incredible sensation and phenomenal upwind ability.
Going over waves or large chop is easy, since the speed is slow enough that the wave energy pushes you up and down over the waves without requiring control input from the rider. You can get away with a shorter keel length foil if the foil is a slower design.
A race foil requires quite a bit more speed before the wing will hold your weight. In light winds, it will require two or three dives of the kite to pick up enough water speed to hold you up. Its upwind angle is slightly better, but the speed at which you travel upwind is much faster.
The glide feeling is much better on a race foil, but the wipe outs are also much more severe. In waves and large chop, you will require a longer keel to give you more maneuvering room to get through the chop without the board touching the water or the wings popping out since you will be traveling too fast to adjust your ride height quick enough.
Any foil gains inertia as the speed increases, so a faster foil will feel more stable and feel like it has more pitch and roll stability.
Once you get used to a fast foil, it is unlikely that you would want to go back to riding a slower one.