The Hooncorp Thread

[Nismonath5]

Time for us to start revealing the driver lineup we’re putting together for the 24 Hours of Lemons NZ, and the first driver to announce is Matt Smith, also known as MonkeyMatt Racing!!

Matt is a well known figure in the New Zealand E-sports scene, having competed in various tournaments and championships on both a regional and world wide scale! Racing for Volkswagen Motorsport, Matt qualified for the New York leg of the FIA Gran Turismo Championships, and was flown out to the USA to compete against the top GT drivers in the world, finishing 5th in what was a thrilling performance for VW!

Another highlight of his E-sports career is qualifying for the Logitech G Challenge Project CARS finals, where after a long and hard fought battle, Matt finished as the top Kiwi / Aussie driver!

Not content with simply having all the fun himself, Matt also founded and currently runs the Monkey Motorsport Club, a sim racing community that aims to make competitive Sim Racing even more accessible to the aspiring gamer. The MMC have started branching off into endurance racing, having competed in the recent iRacing Bathurst 12hr.

Matt’s done more than a few seasons of the 2KCup, so he’s no stranger to the Hampton Downs circuit. Over the years he’s netted some strong results such as a 2nd in his class, three Under 25 Shields, a race win at Hampton Downs, all behind the wheel of his trusty “Red Dragon” Toyota MR2.

Hooncorp’s super excited to welcome Matt aboard the team, and he’ll be joining a bunch of other top quality drivers in what is without a doubt Hooncorp’s biggest and most ambitious Lemons campaign to date!

We’ll be announcing the rest of the team over the coming weeks leading up to the event, as well as the cars we’ll be entering into the race, so stay tuned for more announcements very soon!

 

[Nismonath5]

The next Hooncorp driver to be announced for the 2020 24 Hours Of Lemons is Noel Williams!

Noel is no stranger to the Hooncorp team, having raced in both the 2018 and 2019 non stop 24hr races, both times behind the wheel of the trusty #137 Commodore. Nicknamed “the camp mother”, due to his motherly tendency to be the one keeping the pit garage in a relatively tidy state, he’s also one of the safest sets of hands on the team!

This may be in part due to his job as a Corporate Cabs driver, where smoothness and clean driving are crucial for passenger comfort. However, such talents also translate well onto the racetrack, where mechanical sympathy and keeping out of the penalty box are vital, especially in Lemons racing!

While not a “Pro” racer as such, there’s no denying Noel’s confidence and skill behind the wheel. Fast and consistent regardless of the time of the day, weather conditions or traffic, there’s little reason to worry when he’s behind the wheel, but that’s not to say Noel’s a pushover. Should the need arise, he’s more than capable of pushing harder to close the gap between positions!

As one of the longest serving Hooncorp drivers, we’re fully confident in Noel’s ability ahead of the 2020 race. He and a roster of yet to be announced drivers will be taking the wheel at the 24 Hours of Lemons NZ, at Hampton Down’s!

 

[Nismonath5]

We were invited onto the Garage Heroes In Training podcast!! If you're into podcasts, check out the link below and have a listen, we covered a wide range of hard hitting topics such as the differences between American and Kiwi Lemons, the different cars, our best and worst moments in Lemons, and more!


https://garageheroesintraining.com/

 

[Nismonath5]

It is obviously gutting to know that the 24hr won't be going ahead in May, but given what has happened in the last few days, it's not an unexpected piece of news.

At Hooncorp, work has ceased for now on the various projects we had underway, including the new Pulsar build, upgrading the Commodore to it's third and most ambitious evolution to date, and really overhauling Hooncorp's branding and image.

We are also going to put on hold all of our pre-Lemons content plans that were in place, including driver announcements, update videos and other bits and pieces for the time being.

Like everyone else, our hope is that this whole thing comes right as soon as possible, but of course we recognize that it may still be weeks, if not months away before we return to normality as we knew it.

Still, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, most notably sim racing, Hooncorp can continue to have a presence! Nismonath5 Esports and Inxile Garage will be lining up on the grid of the Monkey Motorsport Club R.S.01 Trophy Round 4 tonight, and Nathan will continue to race in the FIA Gran Turismo Manufacturer Series as a privateer entry for Hooncorp and Nissan.

Stay safe everyone, and for goodness sake, stay home!!

Mike & Nathan.

 

[Jordan]

I am so sad to hear the news, Nathan.

It is difficult to wrap my head around how much the world has changed since I met with you guys. Just four weeks ago I was sitting there in Hooncorp's garage and this is something we never imagined could happen.

You guys have worked so incredibly hard to prepare for this race and it just doesn't seem fair. Nevertheless, there is a bright side and I have no doubt this extra time to prepare will make Hooncorp even stronger for the next event, whenever it might be. 👍

 

[Nismonath5]

Just gauging interest.
If Hooncorp was to host a one-off, E-sports endurance race (thinking 2-4 hours, realistic fuel and tyre wear, etc), who would be keen to compete?

No dates or exact race details planned such as cars or tracks, but it would likely be set on either Gran Turismo Sport or Project CARS 2 for the PS4.

If we get enough interest and feedback, we'll start organizing something!

 

[Nismonath5]

As most of you may remember, the Pulsar suffered a pretty heavy hit in the early hours of the 2019 24hr Lemons. While it initially didn't look too bad, the structural damage was pretty moderate as the driver's side chassis rail had been punched in.

Well, the good folks at The Body Shop Otahuhu have done an incredible job yet again, they've pulled the Pulsar straight and fixed it up, good as new! All that's left now is a little paint work and we'll have it looking mint, ready for the next event!

Thanks again, Body Shop Otahuhu!!

 

[Nismonath5]

We are excited to say the least, to announce our involvement with Tracktime Driving Academy!

This is a massive opportunity to cement our Road-safety message in a practical way. TrackTime has been doing Advanced Driver training for over 20 years, guided by the safe & experienced hands of ex- F3 driver Mike Eady.

We will be promoting many opportunities in the hours, days and weeks ahead. This is looking to be one cool, fun synergy. Check out TrackTime or call 022 4 TRACKTime (0224-872258)

 

[Nismonath5]

Because the weather was particularly nice, we decided to pull all the projects we have going on out of the shed and into the sunlight!!

....and that's just the ones that are currently mobile.

Think the Nissans might well have taken over!!

 

[Nismonath5]

We're finally headed back to the track!!!

We'll be attending a test day at Hampton Downs on July 16. The goal is to shake down some of our recently developed performance improvements by running our test mule Pulsars up against the Pulsar itself. (If you refer to the pics from the previous post, they're the two other black Pulsars next to the racecar.)

One test car is kitted out with some handling upgrades, the other is packing some serious power so it'll be interesting to see what sort of lap times they can do in comparison to the tried, trusted and true. If the upgrades prove themselves, they might well find themselves on the racecar!

Are they Lemons-legal upgrades, you ask?

 

[Pete05]

We're finally headed back to the track!!!

We'll be attending a test day at Hampton Downs on July 16. The goal is to shake down some of our recently developed performance improvements by running our test mule Pulsars up against the Pulsar itself. (If you refer to the pics from the previous post, they're the two other black Pulsars next to the racecar.)

One test car is kitted out with some handling upgrades, the other is packing some serious power so it'll be interesting to see what sort of lap times they can do in comparison to the tried, trusted and true. If the upgrades prove themselves, they might well find themselves on the racecar!

Are they Lemons-legal upgrades, you ask?

View attachment 937041

What a tease you are.

C'mon Nath, don't spare the details.

 

[Nismonath5]

What a tease you are.

C'mon Nath, don't spare the details.

As much as I'd love to,
Don't you know?
Judges could be lurking around the site
Understandably, we don't want to
Share any details
That might be
Audible to the
Burning ears of the
Lemons judges
Even though, as I said, I'd love to

Share the secrets with you guys.
Perhaps you'd be more interested in these
Random ramblings
It seems aimless
Nevertheless, there may be
Groups of you who realise something may be up,
So perhaps there's some kind of meaning to the madness after all?

 

[Pete05]

As much as I'd love to,
Don't you know?
Judges could be lurking around the site
Understandably, we don't want to
Share any details
That might be
Audible to the
Burning ears of the
Lemons judges
Even though, as I said, I'd love to

Share the secrets with you guys.
Perhaps you'd be more interested in these
Random ramblings
It seems aimless
Nevertheless, there may be
Groups of you who realise something may be up,
So perhaps there's some kind of meaning to the madness after all?

Oh well. I guess I'll just have to keep wondering but the suspension is killing me

 

[Nismonath5]

The 16th got postponed due to poor weather. Apparently the folks in higher end supercars are more afraid of wet tracks than we are.

The new date is the 29th.

 

[Nismonath5]

Here's a little Hooncorp trivia that seems to hide in plain sight, the Pulsar's stripes are actually different on either side!

One side is red, white and blue, while the other is blue, white and red! It's always been that way, but only ever been picked up by the observant few.

 

[Pete05]

Here's a little Hooncorp trivia that seems to hide in plain sight, the Pulsar's stripes are actually different on either side!

One side is red, white and blue, while the other is blue, white and red! It's always been that way, but only ever been picked up by the observant few.

View attachment 942888 View attachment 942889

I wouldn’t expect to or want to see it any other way.

Every livery I’ve ever seen that is of a similar nature, has it just like this. It’s as if the stripes continue over the roof & down the other side of the car.

It would look like a horrible mistake if it was done any other way.

 

[Nismonath5]

Well, yesterday's test day went well. Very well. Far beyond expectations!!

The little Pulsar's running some pretty impressive times, and with a bit of a tickle up, we know there's even more to get out of it without even beginning to worry about compromising reliability. The test mule was also beyond satisfactory, so some of it's top secret go faster bits might well have to find their way onto the race car. But with only six weeks to go, and the Commodore still to get back in fighting shape, it's going to be all hands on deck from here on in!

 

[Pete05]

Well, yesterday's test day went well. Very well. Far beyond expectations!!

The little Pulsar's running some pretty impressive times, and with a bit of a tickle up, we know there's even more to get out of it without even beginning to worry about compromising reliability. The test mule was also beyond satisfactory, so some of it's top secret go faster bits might well have to find their way onto the race car. But with only six weeks to go, and the Commodore still to get back in fighting shape, it's going to be all hands on deck from here on in!

View attachment 945002

Nath, it sounds to me like you guys have a couple of quick Pulsars at your disposal. I understand why you want to harvest the best parts from both cars to make a flyer, and pair that with the Commodore for the race but, have you guys considered parking the Commodore & running both Pulsars?

Think about it. Your spares inventory halves in not needing anything Holden & most of your spares will fit both Nissans.

Barring anything I don't know about, it makes sense to me.

 

[Nismonath5]

Nath, it sounds to me like you guys have a couple of quick Pulsars at your disposal. I understand why you want to harvest the best parts from both cars to make a flyer, and pair that with the Commodore for the race but, have you guys considered parking the Commodore & running both Pulsars?

Think about it. Your spares inventory halves in not needing anything Holden & most of your spares will fit both Nissans.

Barring anything I don't know about, it makes sense to me.

Honestly, it is something we've considered, and is no doubt the sensible and more efficient option..

...but I suppose we like the challenge?

T'is true, our workshop has about two extra spaces with old VN bodies loaded with various spares, and we have so many T5 transmissions we probably have something to do with the price inflation, but the truth is we still love the mighty Commy. It IS still the faster car (Although not by much), but with the upgrades it will be getting this weekend, it's going to become a real brute of a machine, so much so that it may well break out of the Lemons class and into the Limes.

It also doesn't help that the Commy's become a bit of an icon of the Lemons grid. She's come a long way from the thrown together, nonstop smoking, rear main seal leaking, crusty old pile of junk that hit the track years ago. One of the longest standing cars in the grid and a true textbook example of a Lemon, it's highest placing is 11th so far. Parking it up without getting at least a top 10 on it's tally would be a shame.

We might be sold on the Nissans being the logical way forward, and after their display at the testing, we're super excited to see what they can go like in the big one. But the Commodore's also getting plenty of love, so it's hard to say which will be the faster car!

 

[Pete05]

Honestly, it is something we've considered, and is no doubt the sensible and more efficient option..

...but I suppose we like the challenge?

T'is true, our workshop has about two extra spaces with old VN bodies loaded with various spares, and we have so many T5 transmissions we probably have something to do with the price inflation, but the truth is we still love the mighty Commy. It IS still the faster car (Although not by much), but with the upgrades it will be getting this weekend, it's going to become a real brute of a machine, so much so that it may well break out of the Lemons class and into the Limes.

It also doesn't help that the Commy's become a bit of an icon of the Lemons grid. She's come a long way from the thrown together, nonstop smoking, rear main seal leaking, crusty old pile of junk that hit the track years ago. One of the longest standing cars in the grid and a true textbook example of a Lemon, it's highest placing is 11th so far. Parking it up without getting at least a top 10 on it's tally would be a shame.

We might be sold on the Nissans being the logical way forward, and after their display at the testing, we're super excited to see what they can go like in the big one. But the Commodore's also getting plenty of love, so it's hard to say which will be the faster car!

Ok mate, I understand now.

Being a sentimental fave & an icon of the grid does have its points. In addition to that, I didn't know the Commie was getting upgrades as well. If it does get moved up the Lime Class, is it still competitive? I'm sure you know the goalposts move every time you roll out of the pitlane.
Hopefully, it's worthy of a top 10 this time out.

Looking to the future, the Commie does have some votes in its favour. It's probably easier to drive than the Pulsars - trucking around lap after lap using the torque to do the work (rather than having to be in the right gear & on the cam), being rear-wheel-drive allows you to alter your driving style if the tyres are wearing unevenly front to rear & if you get held up mid-corner, it'll certainly get the speed back faster than the Pulsar. However, it does lose out on fuel economy, brake & tyre wear being a heavier car.

 

[Nismonath5]

Well, it's exciting times here at Hooncorp!

The new Lemons dates have been announced!

The race will be the 8/9/10 October 2020 (Pending Covid, of course). Some may realize that this was Bathurst weekend, but luckily it got postponed. Otherwise we'd have had one heck of a date clash on our hands!
We've also decided to team up with Track Time Driving Academy and Pukekohe Park Raceway to provide Lemons teams with a heap of track time pre-event to help get their cars race ready!

We have three track days in the coming weeks.

Sept 17 - Pukekohe Park
Sept 23 - Hampton Downs
Sept 24 - Pukekohe Park

Plenty of mileage on offer for budding Lemons teams looking to dial things in for the big one! Now, things really start to ramp up, all the while we HOPE that Covid keeps away so we can actually race!

Watch this space,
Team Hooncorp.

 

[Nismonath5]

Well what a successful shakedown at Pukekohe Park!!!

The little Pulsar proved it's got more than a punch, and with a little help from NZ motorsport living legend Racing Ray Williams, I was able to really give it 11/10ths and see what it was capable of without worrying about fuel economy or lasting 24hrs! Might have to look at a couple of sprint events maybe...

One of our prospect drivers for the 24, Zef Frost, also got to have a couple of test runs in the Pulsar, again with Ray at his side. It's looking like we're going to have a really solid team for this year's race, and with over 70 cars confirmed for the event, it's looking like it's going to be one of the biggest 24hrs the country's ever seen!!

There's still a couple of shakedown days between now and the 24hr, so we'll see what else we can do to really optimize performance in the little black Autech, and arrive at the 24hr with a strong shot at victory!

 

[Pete05]

Well what a successful shakedown at Pukekohe Park!!!

The little Pulsar proved it's got more than a punch, and with a little help from NZ motorsport living legend Racing Ray Williams, I was able to really give it 11/10ths and see what it was capable of without worrying about fuel economy or lasting 24hrs! Might have to look at a couple of sprint events maybe...

One of our prospect drivers for the 24, Zef Frost, also got to have a couple of test runs in the Pulsar, again with Ray at his side. It's looking like we're going to have a really solid team for this year's race, and with over 70 cars confirmed for the event, it's looking like it's going to be one of the biggest 24hrs the country's ever seen!!

There's still a couple of shakedown days between now and the 24hr, so we'll see what else we can do to really optimize performance in the little black Autech, and arrive at the 24hr with a strong shot at victory!

View attachment 958859 View attachment 958860 View attachment 958861

It sounds like Racing Ray has passed on some of his wisdom to you Nathan & that you've found a couple of tenths or more?

 

[Nismonath5]

It sounds like Racing Ray has passed on some of his wisdom to you Nathan & that you've found a couple of tenths or more?

Absolutely mate, the big lesson that day was having the car nice and balanced even while keeping the throttle pinned through high speed corners!

From my first Lemons in the Commodore, to today, Ray's taught me most of what I know around race craft. He's a living legend and a true gentleman of the sport, and I'm honored to be able to call him my racing mentor.

 

[Pete05]

Absolutely mate, the big lesson that day was having the car nice and balanced even while keeping the throttle pinned through high speed corners!

From my first Lemons in the Commodore, to today, Ray's taught me most of what I know around race craft. He's a living legend and a true gentleman of the sport, and I'm honored to be able to call him my racing mentor.

Isn't it amazing when you get taught all this, you head out onto the track & the lap times just come with relative ease. Balance is so crucial to consistent lap times, especially important for endurance racing.

Compare your driving to a year or two ago & I'm sure you're much faster without hacking away at the car & it all seems like a casual sunday drive with pace. Good work mate 👍

 

[Nismonath5]

A last minute tune up on the dyno and the Lucino is ready to join the Pulsar in the 24 Hours Of Lemons!!!

As always, I'll do my best to provide as many to-the-minute updates as possible, though also as always, reception at the track is dicey at best... This is going to be huge, ladies and gentlemen!!!

 

[Nismonath5]

The following post will be updated with race details as the 24hrs unfolds.

FRIDAY

5:30pm -
It's been a long, long day battling last minute bugs, but we are underway!!!! Returning GT Academy star Louie De Manila leads the charge in the Pulsar, while Carl Hannaford of Logiical Performance starts things off in the Lucino.

We were battling some ECU gremlins with the little Lucino, however under race conditions these shouldn't hinder us as it's only a problem when the engine is stone cold. The Pulsar is poised, ready and on the charge!

6:59pm -
Lucino in the garage already with CV issues. The Pulsar meanwhile has been given to the capable hands of Daniel Brown who is happily logging the consistent laps. Nathan to go in the car next. In the meantime the race is on to get the Lucino back out there!

9:12pm -
Lucino got back out shortly after that post, currently 59th out of 78. Pulsar tracking along nicely, 26th and still making ground! Zef Frost in the Pulsar and KB in the Lucino.

10:17pm -
We're five hours into this race! The Pulsar is 33rd and the Lucino is 56th. Our priority right now is avoiding conflict, keeping out of the pits, and we'll start to go on the attack when the sun comes up..

11:28pm -
Pulsar 28th and completed 165 laps, Lucino 50th completed145 laps. Both cars keeping safe. Definitely starting to feel the need for sleep creeping in, especially given setup started at 7am. No matter, we shall keep that at bay with our good friend, energy drink! Cheers!

SATURDAY

1:11am -
Pulsar 28th, 214 laps
Lucino 44th, 196 laps
Nothing particularly interesting to report. We're remaining very passive, waiting for the sun to come up so we can really knuckle down and get to work!

5:04am -
Pulsar 34th 295 laps
Lucino 50th 269 laps
There was a fair red flag session to clean up a heap of oil after one poor team lunched a motor, so that meant free maintenance for us! This is the half way point, so hopefully we can continue to climb and make spots!!

7:31am -
Pulsar 33rd, 364 laps
Lucino 49th, 336 laps
The sun is up! Now we push.

9:40am -
Pulsar 31st, 430 laps
Lucino 42nd, 409 laps
The Pulsar is going really well! The Lucino is chugging along nicely too, and as the track warms up we expect to see those fastest laps start coming down!

12:06pm -
Pulsar 27th, 520 laps
Lucino 44th, 479 laps
The Lucino suffered a broken drive shaft and a disintegrated wheel bearing 5 hours to go, now it's just a matter of seeing the chequered flag. The Pulsar's going great!

2:18pm -
Pulsar 24th, 593 laps
Lucino 38th, 555 laps
The Pulsar is definitely starting to get tired. Amazingly we haven't needed to change the brakes, we've only changed one tire, and all we've done is thrown a bit of extra oil at it. The Lucino is also making up ground, and although its early dramas have cost it a placing closer to its sister car, this event has allowed us to experiment with the VVL technology.

4:18pm -
Pulsar 26th, 659 laps
Lucino 37th, 614 laps
Those are the last pit stops done! Daniel and Carl are bringing home the Pulsar and the Lucino respectively, and now it's literally just a matter of seeing the finish line and we've done it!

 

[Nismonath5]

Final results at the 24 Hours Of Lemons:

Pulsar - 24th (686 laps) Fastest Lap 1:27.1
Lucino - 35th (641 laps) Fastest Lap 1:28.8

A strong result for the team despite a few hurdles thrown at us. The grid of 75+ cars made for a very busy race, however neither the Pulsar nor the Lucino were involved in any major traffic dramas, full credit to the team!

There's so much to cover from the race, but for now everyone's in need of a good long rest, so more on the way soon!

 

[Jordan]

The cars are looking great, Nathan! Glad you guys had a safe race and brought the cars home in one piece.

 

[Pete05]

2 cars to the finish line after 24 hours of racing. Congratulations Nath & all the team at Hooncorp.