Category Touring Cars Inaugural season 2010 | Country Philippines Official website circuitshowdown.com | |
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.
Contents
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 and Time Trials.
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.
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
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:
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.
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.
2012 Series
For 2012, the Season starts in March 3 with races on every first Saturday of each month. This season, there will only be 8 events scheduled plus the Champion of Champions race.
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.
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.
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.
2010 Season
Circuit Showdown's first season ended with a 10th leg at Clark International Speedway.