This year I went to Clark International Speedway (CIS) for two rounds of Circuit Showdown. The June round was on the West short track, while the October round was on the full course.
I took my "poor man's GoPro" on-board video setup - a Panasonic Lumix LX5 mounted on a Gorillapod Zoom wrapped around my Recaro's head rest - along with me on both events.
It also happened that I was on different tires on both rounds. I was running my old Kumho Ecsta SPTs in June, which I swapped out for Michelin Pilot Sport 3s in October. Watch the video and I think you'll notice the huge difference - I changed nothing else on the car.
The common turns between Short and Long layouts of CIS start at the large acacia tree.
The two cars that topped Bracket F were a race-prepped Chevy Spark and an SX8 Honda City (based on an EF Civic) with a ZC engine swap. I got by with nothing more than better brakes and tires - didn't even jettison the rear seats.
Apparently, getting into the Circuit Showdown podium lands you in the papers, too. I get a mention in the break between columns 2 and 3.
This was the official time sheet for Round 4. I'm still listed as car #100.
Didn't do so well here, but competition in Bracket F was fierce (so many cars in the 1:22-1:23 range) and this was my final trackday event on the understeering Kumhos - you may have heard them screaming for dear life on the video. This was also my first time running the short layout at CIS, and I admit there were places I still needed to finesse my line in.
I plan to run the same layout again with the Michelin Pilot Sport 3s.