I don't know about worrying... I tend to go to neutral when approaching a stop. Much easier than down shifting to first. If the light changes as I am coasting, I drop into whatever gear makes sense, usually second. If I am totally stopped I try to "spy" the light change and get ready to go. That said yes, it will be slower being in a manual car. I also feather the gas above 1000k a bit as a prev poster mentioned to get a smooth start. I am sure some people are like wow..slow Porsche...but whatever they can wait. This is for a normal start. And we'll if you are a second behind the other car, it is usually pretty easy to catch up..
