Hehe, it must be nice having some torque to play with. With the 1.8 engine I can't avoid down shifting to first in slow corners. That said, I managed second out of 13 cars in GS at my last autoX. It was a fast 'drift' course so I spent the whole time in second gear mostly out of control desperately trying to avoid the cones. Quick E36 rack without a PS pump was a handful but I can't wait to do it again.
Still managed 33mpg on the way home.