Long first is great !

Or are the hills really tight ?

But a long first typically means the actual gearset will be much closer spaced so better for racing with a narrower power band. Likewise fitting a shorter diff will have a similar effect. Just be careful you dont go too short and end up spending all day changing gear. That's fine with a sequential, not so much with a synchro box unless it is pretty slick.

Gearboxman does some stuff too

http://gearboxman.co.uk/infot5.html

http://www.5speeds.com/t5/s80.html

http://www.carcraft.com/howto/116_0609_t5_transmission/