Circuit Showdown

Circuit Showdown is a Philippine auto racing series that began with its first racing season in 2010. It is currently the only circuit racing series in the country that is open to both amateur and professional drivers that features a classic Touring Car series as well as a Time Attack Competition. Each driver and his vehicle is equipped by an AMB timing system to accurately measure their lap times. Drivers are ranked by their qualifying times and bracketed to compete; accumulating points to vie for the championship in each of the six brackets at the end of the season. The series is open individuals and teams from various racing backgrounds welcoming cars from daily driven stock cars to full race cars. Each event is hosted at different race venues in the country. Open to the most amateur of drivers, the organizers provide driving aids from the country's leading race professionals during the event. In addition, the Philippine National Red Cross provides medical assistance to every event.

Circuit Showdown
CategoryTouring Cars
Country Philippines
Inaugural season2010
Official websitecircuitshowdown.com

Regulations

2012 will see some more changes in regulations particularly in the Grid Races tire restrictions were imposed. The complete list of the regulations can be found on their website for both Grid Races[1] and Time Trials.[2]

This season, will debut the Champions of Champions race where champions of each bracket are invited to race in identical cars for the title of "Champion of Champions." Also, participants that will be running this year's tire sponsor, GT Radial, may compete for the title GT-R Champion and a set of high performance radials.

Race Format

Typically, the event is scheduled on the first Saturday of each Month. Each leg is a whole day event that varies from track to track. The track opens early providing participants with an open practice and enough time to test the track and tune their cars. The event formally begins with a compulsory drivers' briefing then the Qualifying sessions for both Grid and Time Trials (TT) commence and ends at mid-day. Time sheets and bracketing are posted immediately over lunch so everyone can see their qualifying times that they did in the morning. This is followed by the grid races; Race 1 starts with Grid C; once the track is cleared, Official Time Trials Begin for all six brackets. After the last of the TT cars have run, Race 2 follows, with Grid B then Race 3 with Grid A. There are cases when the schedules are shortened or revised. These changes are announced on their website and Facebook Page typically weeks before the event.

Race Day Schedule
7:00 - 9:30 Registration & Open Practice
9:30 - 9:45 Driver's Briefing
9:45 - 12:15 Qualifying Time Trials & Grid
12:15 - 1:00 Lunch Break
1:00 - 1:30 Grid C - Race 1
1:30 - 4:00 Official Time Trials
4:00 - 4:30 Grid B - Race 2
4:30 - 5:00 Grid A - Race 3
5:15 Awarding

Bracketing

Each participant is grouped into their respective brackets based on their performance on the Qualifying Session. Once participants qualify in a bracket, they can no longer go to a lower bracket and compete in that bracket. They can however "break-out" or move to the next higher bracket. Races continue even during rains; in these conditions, bracket times are adjusted and are discussed during the briefing. Below is a sample bracketing for the 6th Leg held at Batangas Racing Circuit with a reverse layout and dry conditions

Group Time Bracket
Bracket A 00.00.000-02.04.999
Bracket B 02.05.000-02.07.999
Bracket C 02.08.000-02.10.999
Bracket D 02.11.000-02.13.999
Bracket E 02.14.000-02.16.999
Bracket F 02.17.000-03.00.999

Time Trials

The series features time trials for those who want to run their cars against the clock. There are a total of six brackets where a participant can compete. The goal of each participant is to reach the closest time set on the bracket, if time is beat, a maximum of .200sec is allowed but will void the fastest time, in this case the 2nd fastest time will be used. For times of .201sec or better, the participant is moved to the next faster bracket.

Grid Race

Grid race are for those who want to compete "wheel to wheel" with other competitors. They are grouped into three categories. Grid A is for those who qualify for brackets A & B, Grid B are for the cars that qualify in brackets C & D, and Grid C are for those who qualify in brackets E & F.

Flag Signals

Circuit Showdown uses the following flags to signal cars:

Flag Signals
Caution ahead, no overtaking
Race or session stopped, proceed to pit lane, no overtaking
Track open, timing commenced
Race/session finished, proceed directly to pit lane, watch for oncoming cars that may be on their hot lap, no blocking

Scoring System

Points are awarded to the top ten drivers in each bracket and points added to each bracket they qualify in. At the end of the season, each of the six brackets for the time trials will have a winner as well as three brackets for the grid.

Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

Tracks

The series runs throughout the year alternating between the major race venues in the Philippines, often changing the layout to add variation. One of its venues is the Clark International Speedway (CIS), the newest touring car race track in the Philippines. Its completion in late 2009, and continuous expansion has made this track the most competitive to date. The Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) was created in 1996 from a 2.9 km circuit it has grown into a 3.5 km track with a 550m straight also used for drag racing events.

In 2010, the series ran a few legs on the now defunct Subic International Raceway (SIR), a 2.9 kilometer circuit with 12 turns, that has been the venue for both local & international races. Located beside the Subic International Airport, it is 15 minutes away from Central Business District of Subic Bay Freeport and was completed in 1994. Early in 2011, the track has been closed to make way for a commercial development in Subic. As a send-off, the administration of the Subic Raceway organized the "Last Lap," a three-day event open to everyone.[3][4]

2012 Series

For 2012, the Season starts on March 3[5] with races on every first Saturday of each month. This season, there will only be 8 events scheduled plus the Champion of Champions race.[6]

Race Schedule
2012 Race Schedule
Event Date Track Venue
1st leg March 3, 2012 Batangas Racing Circuit
2nd leg April 14, 2012 Clark International Speedway
3rd leg May 5, 2012 Batangas Racing Circuit
4th leg June 2, 2012 Clark International Speedway
5th leg July 7, 2012 Batangas Racing Circuit
6th leg Aug 4, 2012 Clark International Speedway
7th leg September 1, 2012 Batangas Racing Circuit
8th leg October 6, 2012 Clark International Speedway

Entry List

Circuit Showdown is also participated by teams from all over the country ranging from car clubs to manufacturers. Each team accumulate points through each driver's points. The team with the most points are declared Team Champion at the end of the season. Though there is no published entry list, this 2012 both HKS (company) and Liquimoly are rumored to compete in both Time Trials and Grid Races across different brackets.

Cars (Manufacturers & Models)
Vehicles Running the Series
Honda Mazda Mitsubishi Mercedes Nissan Porsche Subaru Toyota
Civic EK/EG/Si, City Gen 1 and Type Z SX8, S2000, CRX, TypeR, Integra Mazda2 (Demio) Lancer EX, GSR Coupe, Evolution, Galant SLK Sentra, S15, GT-R GT3 Impreza, WRX STI Corolla, Vios, Trueno

Organization

The series is organized by Enzo Pastor and Dalia Pastor. This series is backed by GT Radial, HKS Super Oil, Rota Wheels, Staging Lanes, Pitworkz by Hongly, V-KOOL, Foil a Car, Runstop Rotors, ECW Performance, Dynamics Suspension, Egg Head, PhilGerma, Garage88, ACCS, kotse.com, Autoindustriya.com, Top Gear Phil., Stoplight TV and 99.5 RT.

Championships

2012 Season
2012 Championship
Group 1st 2nd 3rd
Grid A
Grid B
Grid C
Bracket A
Bracket B
Bracket C
Bracket D
Bracket E
Bracket F

2011 Season

With the last of the race concluded on October 1, 2011 at a typhoon soaked Clark International Speedway, the season champions are declared and an awarding ceremony set for October 22, 2011 at Garage88 in Taguig, Global City.[7][8]

2011 Championship
Group 1st 2nd 3rd
Grid R Raffy La'O (Club 420) Marc Thomann Eggy Ong
Grid A Philip Alvenida (Rota) Ferdinand Sia Paolo Mantolino (Club 420)
Grid B John Pacres (Flat Out) Marcus Timbol (DKC Tire Center) Alan Arguelles
Bracket A Marc Thomann Carlos Anton (Mark Young Racing) Joby Tanseco (Track Hos)
Bracket B Hernel Castillo Jeffrey Roxas-Chua Edward dela Rosa (Flat Out)
Bracket C Rico Cheng Palle Hansen Ramon de Oteyza
Bracket D Gernand Andino Christian Sedano (MitsuLancer.ph) Alan Arguelles
Bracket E Mark Arce (MitsuLancer.ph) Ulysses Paredes (MitsuLancer.ph) Christian Sedano (MitsuLancer.ph)
Bracket F Jules Arambulo Polo Bautista (DKC Tire Center) Ivan Antonio (MitsuLancer.ph)
2011 Team Championship[9]
Team Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Total
MitsulancerPH 63 23 0 53 42 65 18 40 304
Flat Out 29 8 10 45 31 17 53 23 228
Club 420 43 34 0 22 14 21 53 34 243
Ecnivorp 8 15 11 26 12 0 8 5 85
DKC Tire Center 10 10 8 10 10 0 12 8 67
Track Hos 12 8 0 25 9 0 3 0 59
TACP 20 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 52
Rota 23 4 0 10 6 0 16 17 76
Grupo Toyota 19 6 0 0 5 0 5 0 35

2010 Season

Circuit Showdown's first season ended with a 10th leg at Clark International Speedway.[10]

2010 Championship
Group 1st 2nd 3rd
Grid Marc Thomann (PhilGerma) Arnel Carlos (DKC Tire Center) Dax Santiano (TS-Tuning)
Bracket A/Open Class Marc Thomann (PhilGerma) Mikko Briones (Cabspeed) TJ Pangilinan (Cabspeed)
Bracket B Arnel Carlos (DKC Tire Center) Dwight Kevin Carlos (DKC Tire Center) Philip Alvendia (Rota Wheels, Inc.)
Bracket C Patrick Bautista (F2020-DKC) Edward "HazardBoy" dela Rosa (Detail Plus) Dwight Kevin Carlos (DKC Tire Center)
Bracket D Marcus Timbol (DKC T-Factory) Mark Arce (MitsuLancer.ph) Dondi Sy
Bracket E Alan Arguelles Mark Quitoriano (DKC T-Factory) Ulysses Paredes (MitsuLancer.ph)

References
  1. CS Grid Rules Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. CS Time Trial Rules Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Roces, Iñigo (16 August 2010). "The Last Lap of Subic Raceway". AutoIndustriya.com. AutoIndustriya.com. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  4. TopGear Philippines
  5. PhilStar
  6. Champion of Champions
  7. Googlemap
  8. Philippine Star
  9. Timesheets & Points
  10. 2010 Champions Archived 2012-07-22 at Archive.today
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