Rev limiter - hard cut or soft cut?

[LetItSnow]

In most autocross courses, I find myself fitting nicely inside the engine's RPM range in second gear. Some of the longer-legged ones allow for higher speeds, which concerns me.

Second gear in my SVX (ECUTune 1v5, 2000 RS trans, 4.111 final drive, stock size tires) comes out roughly to 60mph. Many tracks get close, but some get there, and I can tell because I'm hitting the rev limiter. Most of the time, it's not long enough to shift to third and gain anything; common thinking says to stay in second. I'm concerned for the safety of my engine at the limiter, though.

If it's a soft cut system, then there shouldn't be any reason for concern. I'm not sure that's so, though - I'm pretty sure the "bam bam bam" cut is a hard cut.

Can anyone offer some insight on this?