The Hooncorp Thread

[Nismonath5]

Hard to believe it's already nearly three weeks since the 24hr!!
We took quite a lot away from this year's race, mostly RnD for our future motorsports endeavors... More on that in due course!

 

[Nismonath5]

Well well... it's been a long time.

Apologies for the extended absence. Recent global events and subsequent lockdowns squashed a lot of our plans for the remainder of 2020, and then New Zealand had one more lockdown for good measure in February.

However it looks like we're in a position to start popping our head back up, so hopefully this thread can be revived!

To get things back in action, we went along with the NAZCAR Lemons team to the dirt track, entering the Mutt-Stang into the Open 8 / Production 8 combined class.

It wasn't overly dominant, nor was it set up in any way to suit the dirt. But we had a blast!! And it was a nice return to form for the Mutt-Stang, which started out life as a dirt track car before being converted to circuit spec!

 

[Nismonath5]

Pretty excited to be able to finally announce that I'll be making my Elf Rhino Racing Series debut tomorrow!

I gave these incredible racing utes a test drive late last year, and although Covid slowed things a bit, I'll be attending this season's finale at Pukekohe Park Raceway for what will be my first ever sprint race meeting!

To really get the Hooncorp brand out there, I've gone and started the process of designing a couple of team shirt concepts, one of which I've made into an actual shirt that I may well wear at the meet.

Whatcha think?

 

[Pete05]

Pretty excited to be able to finally announce that I'll be making my Elf Rhino Racing Series debut tomorrow!

I gave these incredible racing utes a test drive late last year, and although Covid slowed things a bit, I'll be attending this season's finale at Pukekohe Park Raceway for what will be my first ever sprint race meeting!

To really get the Hooncorp brand out there, I've gone and started the process of designing a couple of team shirt concepts, one of which I've made into an actual shirt that I may well wear at the meet.

Whatcha think?

View attachment 1007903 View attachment 1007904 View attachment 1007905

Wishing you the best of luck for tomorrow at Pukekohe.

I've just had a quick look at some in-car videos from last season at Pukekohe & Hampton Downs.

I don't know what engine these Ssangyong's have, but it seems like the cars need to have their piston rings revved right off to about 6000rpm because they have no useful torque.
Not sure what tyres they run either but with an open diff, the slower/tighter corners like the hairpin at Pukie, getting a good clean exit seems like hard work.
Turn 1 over the bumps there looks like a riot of a good time. Have fun.

 

[Nismonath5]

Well, what an absolutely full on fortnight it's been!! Here's the breakdown on how everything went!

Part 1: May 2 - Elf Rhino Racing Series Debut!!
My first ever sprint race meeting, and also my first proper race meet at Pukekohe. I've done plenty of testing there, sure, and plenty of fun days. But no actual racing, as such. Especially not any sprint racing in a class that's known for tight, door to door competition!

I managed to qualify 12th out of 15 entrants. We were all pleasantly surprised with that, as the expectation had always been to start off the back and work my way up. I was only a second or so off the main pack, and the ute felt great! Race 1 was where I found the limit, spinning it round in the early stages, but catching back up and finishing 12th having caught the backmarkers.

Race 2 was more intense, didn't spin but I did swap a bit of paint with some of the competition, jostling for spots. Finished 10th after beating the championship leader by 0.023 secs! Race 3 was a 30 minute race, and all the rookies started a few seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. Starting on pole, I straight away engaged in a hard fought battle for the podium spots, as the title contenders surprisingly struggled to catch us! Once they did, however, I got pushed wide and, lacking the experience of fighting as opposed to endurance racing, gave too much room and rode the kerb at turn 2, just about rolling the ute in the process. I managed to blow the front right off the rim, so that was a trip back to the pits, and I finished a few laps down.

All things considered, though, it was a phenomenal event! The feedback I received from other drivers, those in the know and other peers suggest that I didn't do too badly, as far as rookies go!

(Also I've just been asked to participate in yet another race this weekend, making that THREE consecutive weeks of racing for me. I'll try get this thread up to date as soon as I can!)

 

[Nismonath5]

Part 2 - May 7/8/9 - Nazcar Lemons 24hr 3 day event!

Our latest Lemons race was a bit more laid back than some of our previous efforts. With the NAZCAR Pro Series on the horizon, some of our effort has been diverted into construction of the Pro car, so we ran a bit of a skeleton crew for this event. Despite only entering one team, we ran two cars. The reason for this was to take advantage of a new rule that had been devised and implemented with the upcoming Pro Series in mind, but was being trialed at this event.

The rule states that teams can use more than one car in an entry, eliminating the rush in the pits to carry out work and maintenance. As soon as one car enters the pits and stops in the bay, there is a mandated three minute wait before the second car can be released (Which is still an advantage, as a regular pit stop in Lemons takes anywhere from 4-7 minutes easily.)

The Autech and the Lucino were buddied up for the race, with the driver roster consisting entirely of drivers who raced with us in last year's 24.
-Myself
-Dad
-Alex Litle
-KB
-Richard Gladden

The race started out chaotic enough, with the usual onslaught of fast paced frontrunners breaking down, crashing or otherwise ruining their race in those early hours. We had started dead last as we always do at Lemons events, and after a few hours it quickly became apparent that our tag team pit stop idea was a massive plus. There was no rush in the pits, no panicking to get a driver ready or comfortable in the car. And both cars used the same radio channel, so drivers on track could communicate race developments to the next driver during that three minute wait.

By the end of the first day, we were sitting in 30th. The second day was much of the same, we'd worked out that the Autech had the speed advantage over the Lucino, so we worked to maximize the Autech's time on track and use the Lucino as a means of keeping the team rolling while we serviced it. However, with drier, hotter conditions than expected, we chewed through the front tyres, which was quite a surprise as they were supposed to be a harder compound than the type of tyre we'd used last year.

Alex had complained of "Losing some grip" towards the end of his mega two-hour stint in the car. That said, he was still well on the pace when we brought him in!

Day two was uneventful but we made some good progress, now sitting around 24th. The final day, it rained. It rained a lot. And just like that, the running order of dominance had flipped on its head. Cars that had been setting record laps the previous days were now putting around, seemingly scared of the conditions. And cars that had been cruising at an average pace were now starting to make moves.

We swapped out our seemingly grippier but less durable tyres for a set that we'd put aside specifically for wet conditions. As we already knew, the Pulsar was more than capable in the wet so we wasted no time passing cars. In fact, that day was probably the most dominant the Pulsar's felt as far as passing cars on track. It was awesome!! Unfortunately, the folks ahead of us had made so much ground in the prior two days that all our passing didn't do much to the standings, and we finished 23rd overall! The next event on the Lemons calendar is the Pro Series, which will either require a brand new build or some serious modifications to the Autech...

 

[ScottPuss20]

So you race for a total of 24 hours over the course of 3 days? Is that right?

 

[Nismonath5]

So you race for a total of 24 hours over the course of 3 days? Is that right?

Correct, so 4 hours on the Friday (following documentation, scrutineering and a 2hr practise in the morning), then two 10hr days on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

This is how Lemons events were all run in NZ originally, before they had the reputation and the trust from governing bodies to run a Nonstop 24.

 

[Nismonath5]

Part 3: May 15/16 - Taupo 9 to 5 Endurance

Following the Elf Rhino racing and the NAZCAR event, I thought I had some time to chill. Right up until I was called on the Tuesday to see if I wanted to do yet another event. This was the Taupo 9 to 5, a standalone endurance event put on by the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park. A couple of the SsangYong teams were fronting some of their cars, and B&D Motorsport wanted me in their ute.

But this wasn't a regular series ute like I'd driven. It was a hotted up version, with more power, a better diff, much grippier tyres, and a few other "minor" adjustments.

So, I found a hotel on short notice and off we went!

I don't think we could have asked for better weather. It was bright, clear and cold. There were two main features to make this event quite unique! Firstly, it was the international circuit, but a custom layout that incorporated a chicane half way down the back straight, as well as an extra tight section just after turn 8 that rejoined the regular circuit before turn 10.

Taupo's a very busy track with few places to take a quick mental breather over the course of a lap. These extra additions took away two of the main places where you'd get such a breather.

Here I have crudely attempted to show the unique additions to the circuit for our race.

The other unique feature of this event was that half way through the race, we would all turn around and begin racing in the opposite direction!! This completely changes the flow and character of the track, funnily enough it's much faster going backwards, though passing is more viable going forwards. Work that one out.

Just under 20 cars started, and in all honestly, there's very little to talk about for this one. Everyone circulated, there was only one safety car the entire time, and very little drama or notable happenings! The turnaround at the half way point was a real head scratcher initially, as we were basically driving a totally new track, all our prior knowledge on reference points and brake markers were out the window. But I soon got the hang of it, and in fact I think I prefer Taupo going backwards now! It's noticeably faster and more flowing, you can carry more speed through turns while not over-driving the car.

I had an incredible duel with a late 90's / early 00's Ford Focus ST, which went on for more than a few laps until I finally caught him. And I had an absolute blast! At the end of 8 hours' racing, we came home in 4th place, not too far off a podium spot!

So that wrapped up my three weeks of back to back to back motorsports!!! Now, we get a five to six week break before NAZCAR Pro, but of course there will be little resting! We have a whole new car to build, and the plan is that this one will really fly... But first we need to get it back to the workshop, an-

WAIT!!!

(Checks notes)

I haven't even posted here about the new workshop?!?! Oh man, better start on that next!!

 

[Nismonath5]

So yes, while all this racing has been going on, we landed ourselves a new headquarters!!

It's located comfortably in the industrial side of town, and has everything the shed doesn't! Lights, power, hoists, room to work, an office space, the whole lot!!

There's still some set up to do, but for the most part the place is fully operational!! This is going to make future builds so much more straight forward, feels like we're out of the stone age!

 

[Pete05]

So yes, while all this racing has been going on, we landed ourselves a new headquarters!!

It's located comfortably in the industrial side of town, and has everything the shed doesn't! Lights, power, hoists, room to work, an office space, the whole lot!!

View attachment 1017782

View attachment 1017783

View attachment 1017784

There's still some set up to do, but for the most part the place is fully operational!! This is going to make future builds so much more straight forward, feels like we're out of the stone age!

Anything is easier when you have the right equipment.

Congratulations.

 

[Nismonath5]

Round 1 of the NAZCAR Pro Series kicks off this weekend!!

The team's been hard at work transforming 37 from a small Lemons star into a Pro Series hero! Though, in actual fact, it's not taking much! Endless brakes provide significantly more stopping power, and some new Goodride Sport RS semi slicks mean that the little Pulsar should remain virtually glued to corners.

But really, we don't need to try very hard at all. The Pro series is segregated into classes by lap times, and the slowest of the classes range from 1:33 to 1:27. Well, the Pulsar was already in the low 27's at the last event, so really all we need to do is keep our noses clean, look after her and remain consistent and we should have this one!

Rear brakes in remarkable condition considering the hours of work they've done!

RE-003's on the rear, no point having semi slicks on the rear of a FWD car. The rear is stable enough already.

You raise me uuuuuuuupppppp....

The forecast reckons there's a 99% chance of rain for race day. This will no doubt prove to really shake things up, we know how good the Pulsar is in the wet, though the rest of the competition will be much more serious with a proper national title on the line. Exciting stuff!!

 

[noshog]

Guessing you are at Hampton Downs this weekend ?
I have organised to take the kids away on a long weekend for school holidays... and yeah the weather looks... not good ☹️

 

[Nismonath5]

Guessing you are at Hampton Downs this weekend ?
I have organised to take the kids away on a long weekend for school holidays... and yeah the weather looks... not good ☹️

Yep, Hampton Downs once again. There's two HD races and one Pukekohe Park race, which I cannot wait for. I know the Pukekohe one is going to be incredible!!

 

[Pete05]

Hey Nathan, it's weather dependent of course but just watch how the Goodrides on the front & Bridgestones on the rear come up to operating temp.
It may feel a bit ugly while the fronts are coming up but most importantly will be how it feels once everything is where you want it.

I'm hoping the Goodrides help with rotation to the apex & awesome traction off the corner.

Now, are you aiming to cruise around doing 1:27s all day, or are you aiming for the Class above? What times are they doing?
From 1:26s down to what?

 

[Nismonath5]

(Apologies for the delay, juggling work and racing and basic self-care doesn't leave much wiggle room for writing race reports)

Well, there's not a heck of a lot in the ways of pictures, but let me tell you guys how the first round went! It involved A LOT of water, but amazingly very little drama!

From the day before, we knew it was going to be wet. The only real question was "How wet?"

MetService showed 100% chance of heavy rain, and quite frankly even that was an understatement. It was hosing down the entire time, from loading up the cars all the way to heading home.

We ended up not doing practice or qualifying, as we decided to wait out the weather and see if it would slightly ease up. It didn't, and in that session alone two cars fell victim to the torrential conditions.

Thus, we started at the back of the grid for the race. Those who have been following our races in years gone by will know that we tend to actually prefer this, as it means all the drama happens ahead of us and we generally keep out of trouble. The first few laps were under safety car until a bit of a dry line was more or less present.

It's probably important to add here that the class lap times were... slightly adjusted to suit the conditions. It was so wet that nobody would even come close to their class times, so every time bracket was slowed down significantly. This meant our 1:27 target was now a 1:41, and when it started to dry up and get quicker this would adjust again to a 1:35. There were some varied opinions on this, though in fairness, I don't think anybody foresaw this kind of extreme weather.

Once we were "really" underway, the Pulsar simply got to work and sliced through the field. I started the race, and with the rain pounding down, kerbs basically underwater, and everyone seemingly taking it extremely cautiously, I managed to climb up to 7th overall...

...Right up until the bit where I spun having just logged a best lap.

I managed to climb back to 11th before swapping over the reigns, and Richard went out and had a largely uneventful session, gaining some spots but losing some too, now 12th. When Zef climbed in, he lasted a while before the drive belt shredded itself out of the blue, causing him to lose both power steering and boosted brakes, and end up in the gravel pit.

Luckily, he managed to dig himself out and get back to the pits. We scrambled the Lucino which had been in attendance as a tag-out should this very scenario play out, and we were back in it, albeit a few extra spots down.

Even though the Lucino is down on speed compared to the Pulsar, the torrential downpour was a great equalizer, and we carried on, nursing the Lucino the whole way. While initially, the idea was to use it as a means to keep the team going while the Pulsar was repaired, the belts had gone in such a way that it wouldn't be fixed at the track, so all the more reason to play it safe.

We came home 11th overall and 4th in class, so a fantastic starting haul of points to open our account!
Now, we're really hoping the next race is a lot drier...

 

[Nismonath5]

Hey Nathan, it's weather dependent of course but just watch how the Goodrides on the front & Bridgestones on the rear come up to operating temp.
It may feel a bit ugly while the fronts are coming up but most importantly will be how it feels once everything is where you want it.

I'm hoping the Goodrides help with rotation to the apex & awesome traction off the corner.

Now, are you aiming to cruise around doing 1:27s all day, or are you aiming for the Class above? What times are they doing?
From 1:26s down to what?

Just realized I never replied to Pete, sorry bud!!

The Goodrides, amazingly warmed up and had a nice tack to them, even in the water! There wasn't much needed in the ways of warm up, just get some temperature in the brakes and play it safe in that opening half hour or so, which we would have done anyway!

Our aim is to stay in class 4, the next class up is populated by SsangYong Rhino Racing Utes, 2KCup Integras and the like so we would get left for dead in comparison. Classes range from 1:27's all the way to 1:16's, and anything faster gets penalized.

 

[Pete05]

(Apologies for the delay, juggling work and racing and basic self-care doesn't leave much wiggle room for writing race reports)

Well, there's not a heck of a lot in the ways of pictures, but let me tell you guys how the first round went! It involved A LOT of water, but amazingly very little drama!

From the day before, we knew it was going to be wet. The only real question was "How wet?"

MetService showed 100% chance of heavy rain, and quite frankly even that was an understatement. It was hosing down the entire time, from loading up the cars all the way to heading home.

We ended up not doing practice or qualifying, as we decided to wait out the weather and see if it would slightly ease up. It didn't, and in that session alone two cars fell victim to the torrential conditions.

Thus, we started at the back of the grid for the race. Those who have been following our races in years gone by will know that we tend to actually prefer this, as it means all the drama happens ahead of us and we generally keep out of trouble. The first few laps were under safety car until a bit of a dry line was more or less present.

It's probably important to add here that the class lap times were... slightly adjusted to suit the conditions. It was so wet that nobody would even come close to their class times, so every time bracket was slowed down significantly. This meant our 1:27 target was now a 1:41, and when it started to dry up and get quicker this would adjust again to a 1:35. There were some varied opinions on this, though in fairness, I don't think anybody foresaw this kind of extreme weather.

Once we were "really" underway, the Pulsar simply got to work and sliced through the field. I started the race, and with the rain pounding down, kerbs basically underwater, and everyone seemingly taking it extremely cautiously, I managed to climb up to 7th overall...

...Right up until the bit where I spun having just logged a best lap.

I managed to climb back to 11th before swapping over the reigns, and Richard went out and had a largely uneventful session, gaining some spots but losing some too, now 12th. When Zef climbed in, he lasted a while before the drive belt shredded itself out of the blue, causing him to lose both power steering and boosted brakes, and end up in the gravel pit.

Luckily, he managed to dig himself out and get back to the pits. We scrambled the Lucino which had been in attendance as a tag-out should this very scenario play out, and we were back in it, albeit a few extra spots down.

Even though the Lucino is down on speed compared to the Pulsar, the torrential downpour was a great equalizer, and we carried on, nursing the Lucino the whole way. While initially, the idea was to use it as a means to keep the team going while the Pulsar was repaired, the belts had gone in such a way that it wouldn't be fixed at the track, so all the more reason to play it safe.

We came home 11th overall and 4th in class, so a fantastic starting haul of points to open our account!
Now, we're really hoping the next race is a lot drier...

Just realized I never replied to Pete, sorry bud!!

The Goodrides, amazingly warmed up and had a nice tack to them, even in the water! There wasn't much needed in the ways of warm up, just get some temperature in the brakes and play it safe in that opening half hour or so, which we would have done anyway!

Our aim is to stay in class 4, the next class up is populated by SsangYong Rhino Racing Utes, 2KCup Integras and the like so we would get left for dead in comparison. Classes range from 1:27's all the way to 1:16's, and anything faster gets penalized.

Well, look at you guys sliding under the radar & climbing up to 7th overall. All without the aid of an outboard motor or paddles given the rather damp conditions. Did that performance have you in the Class lead? Either way, well done to all involved.

The setup & balance of the car sounds like it wasn't causing any huge problems so the question is Nath, do you know why you had the gyration?

I gotta say that drive belt breaking & taking out the power steering makes sense but the boosted brakes as well 🤔 I don't understand how that works. Thankfully, the failure put you in a gravel trap & not something hard enough for a sudden stop, injured pride & a big repair bill. Log it all in the ledger as experience.

As you say, Nath, 4th in Class & a nice bag full of points to open the account is nothing to be sneezed at. How many of your competitors wish they had that result in the books as they drove home?

When & where is the next round?

 

[Nismonath5]

Well, look at you guys sliding under the radar & climbing up to 7th overall. All without the aid of an outboard motor or paddles given the rather damp conditions. Did that performance have you in the Class lead? Either way, well done to all involved.

The setup & balance of the car sounds like it wasn't causing any huge problems so the question is Nath, do you know why you had the gyration?

I gotta say that drive belt breaking & taking out the power steering makes sense but the boosted brakes as well 🤔 I don't understand how that works. Thankfully, the failure put you in a gravel trap & not something hard enough for a sudden stop, injured pride & a big repair bill. Log it all in the ledger as experience.

As you say, Nath, 4th in Class & a nice bag full of points to open the account is nothing to be sneezed at. How many of your competitors wish they had that result in the books as they drove home?

When & where is the next round?

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure why I spun. Being that it was just after setting a fastest lap, my guess is it was a mix of being mildly distracted glancing the timing screen, and arriving into the corner a little bit hotter than usual, which in such conditions had heavier consequences than normal.

Thankfully, the Pulsar is all repaired now and should be sorted for round 2. The tyres weren't worn at all, I've washed all the gravel out from under it, and even when I took it for a playful hoon around Pukekohe Park last weekend, I heard the remains of the gravel falling out.

Next round is August 14, again at Hampton Downs. Hoping for better weather!!

 

[Nismonath5]

Round 2 of the NAZCAR Pro Series, and in a start contrast to Round 1's abysmal conditions, this time we had absolutely picturesque weather!!

The team lineup remained identical, with myself, Zef and Richard in the 37 Pulsar. However, we had enough interest from some other drivers to warrant fronting a second car. GT Academy Finalist Louie De Manila, Carl Hannaford and James Isherwood entered the race in a car that we've actually only recently acquired.

It's a 3 door Autech Pulsar, built by Barry O'Sullivan who was a well known Nissan SR-engine expert. It was his personal car, raced in 2KCup and the like. Basically identical to our little Autech, but with more power, less "off the shelf" parts, and a few minor differences (Mainly to do with the different regs between NAZCAR and 2KCup).

This time, we actually managed to make it out to qualifying! Like we always do, we opted to start towards the rear of the grid and made quick progress in the opening hours. Our main rival for this series is Assassins Racing, a seemingly plain and unassuming Mazda3 sedan that has been a real silent achiever in the Lemons races, and now here it is doing the business in the Pro Series.

Progress was slow but sure, though 37 seemed to be running a little hotter than usual. A check in the pit stop didn't show anything out of the ordinary, and it didn't seem to be hindering performance so we allowed it to continue without treatment.

So you can imagine my head hanging when we got the call over the radio that a black Pulsar had ground to a halt!

Fortunately (for our championship chances, not my wallet), it was the other Pulsar that had expired. While we have no concrete evidence of what caused it, the hole in the block and bits of piston strewn around the track suggests it could have been a very expensive mis-shift.

"Piston broke. Now I'm pist'n broke!"

After being unceremoniously returned to the pits via flat deck trailer, we fired up the Lucino which was there as the spare car, and sent the second team back out. This is why we bring spare everything to an endurance event, people!

The starter motor's still dodgy from the last race, or we took it out to save weight? You decide.

The bulk of the mid-event was largely uneventful, but with two hours to go a Celica dropped an engine coming into pit lane, and consequently the entire entry to pit lane was slicked with racecar blood.

While officials raced to mop it all up, we took the chance to pull off a free pit stop, and since we had the time, I suggested we look at changing the front left tyres on both cars. "No point, we'll just nurse it" they said.

Bono, please...

...no, you're not nursing that. Look how much of the edge it's eaten up! Unfortunately, we only had the time to make one change, so the Pulsar got the priority. The Lucino wasn't nearly as bad, as it had gone out on green tyres as opposed to the Pulsar's which had been pre roaded and done a high speed promo day at Pukekohe Park.

With an hour to go, it was anyone's game. The Assassins had a clearly slower driver among them, and had received some drive through penalties for breaking out of their time bracket, so we were in with a serious shot at a top 10 overall finish!! It was that convenient time bracket where the live timing decided to stop working, so the plan was simply push. We'd take turns paying Race Control a cheeky visit, simply to catch a glance at their timing screens.

At one point, we were 9th overall, but by the time the chequered flag came out we had fallen back to 11th to just barely miss out on a top 10. Still, to lock in a 2nd in class result means that we're now currently 2nd in class for the overall points table, as we head to Pukekohe for the high speed, high stakes grand finale.

...Except those plans are in the toilet for the time being. New Zealand's back in lockdown. So at this point, who knows when we'll be able to contest the final round, but hopefully it's soon enough!! Right here right now, though, all we can do is sit at home and not get sick.

 

[Pete05]

Nath are you guys allowed to fit anything that will give you more negative camber to the front wheels?

That tyre is an absolute shocker & someone has been having a red hot go at it too going by the feathering on the sidewall!
No other way to call that other than some serious overdriving.

 

[Nismonath5]

Nath are you guys allowed to fit anything that will give you more negative camber to the front wheels?

That tyre is an absolute shocker & someone has been having a red hot go at it too going by the feathering on the sidewall!
No other way to call that other than some serious overdriving.

Indeed, there'll be some research and development to try and sort that out in time for Pukekohe! Problem is, Pukekohe (As I'm sure you'll have seen through the V8's) is even more hungry for left fronts. I know exactly how hard the Pulsar needs to be pushed to do well there, only problem is, will the tyres take six hours of that?

 

[Pete05]

Ahh yes, Pukekohe. What a wonderful track that is.

Are you using the traditional layout or the Supercar version with the chicane before the hairpin?
Traditional: 6 turns - 4 right, 2 left.
Supercar: 8 turns - 5 right, 3 left.

Having driven the track before, you know which of those right-handers are the critical ones to a good lap time.

Personally, I'd be saving as much of that tyre as possible for the run onto the back straight, sacrificing my entry into the hairpin for a good straight line exit with good power down traction & going full attack mode at the left-hand turn 2 & at pit entry.
There's little to be gained by giving it all at turn 1, no one is going to pass there unless they have a huge car advantage & the same applies for the final turn. Any front-end scrub at either of those is just wasted energy better used elsewhere.

As for how to make your tyres last 6 hours, you'll only really know where you are on that following practice & qualifying.
Are there any penalties other than time spent in the pitlane for changing rubber?

 

[Nismonath5]

Are there any penalties other than time spent in the pitlane for changing rubber?

No penalties barring the time it takes to deal with all those wheel nuts. I believe the plan was also to use either layout, we never really got a definitive decision from the Il-LEMON-ati.




So anyway Covid, once again, has absolutely put the brakes on things.

Having been in lockdown for the last two months, of course the final round of NAZCAR Pro has been cancelled. That should mean that we have secured our 2nd in class placing, but we're currently waiting for an official word on what that means for the championship.

The 24 hour, also has been canned. A new date is slated for Feb 2022, still at Hampton Downs and still at the GP layout. Here's hoping we're all allowed to travel out of Auckland by then!!

There's also a new event that's been announced, as a sort of reprieve for missing out the Pukekohe round of the Pro Series. It's a 12hr at Pukekohe, air marked for December 2021. Though, with the current covid situation unpredictable as ever, who even knows what freedoms we'll have by then.

For now, it's basically a massive question mark over everything. The cars are all virtually frozen in time, some in various stages of repair or upgrades, unable to be completed until we can resume working (And some of our top mechanics can return to Auckland!!)

In the meantime, some fellow NAZCAR teams have gotten a bit restless with no racing, and Dad's Army decided to issue out a challenge, which can be viewed here:




Of course, we were never going to say no to the chance to have a bit of a cheeky hoon!!



The most impressive entry so far has to be Team Chequered Past, and the mighty Roxanne!



I think it's safe to say that the sooner we're back racing, the better it will be for tyres (and drivetrains) all over the country!!

 

[Pete05]

No penalties barring the time it takes to deal with all those wheel nuts. I believe the plan was also to use either layout, we never really got a definitive decision from the Il-LEMON-ati.




So anyway Covid, once again, has absolutely put the brakes on things.

Having been in lockdown for the last two months, of course the final round of NAZCAR Pro has been cancelled. That should mean that we have secured our 2nd in class placing, but we're currently waiting for an official word on what that means for the championship.

The 24 hour, also has been canned. A new date is slated for Feb 2022, still at Hampton Downs and still at the GP layout. Here's hoping we're all allowed to travel out of Auckland by then!!

There's also a new event that's been announced, as a sort of reprieve for missing out the Pukekohe round of the Pro Series. It's a 12hr at Pukekohe, air marked for December 2021. Though, with the current covid situation unpredictable as ever, who even knows what freedoms we'll have by then.

For now, it's basically a massive question mark over everything. The cars are all virtually frozen in time, some in various stages of repair or upgrades, unable to be completed until we can resume working (And some of our top mechanics can return to Auckland!!)

In the meantime, some fellow NAZCAR teams have gotten a bit restless with no racing, and Dad's Army decided to issue out a challenge, which can be viewed here:




Of course, we were never going to say no to the chance to have a bit of a cheeky hoon!!



The most impressive entry so far has to be Team Chequered Past, and the mighty Roxanne!



I think it's safe to say that the sooner we're back racing, the better it will be for tyres (and drivetrains) all over the country!!

Roxanne sounds like an angry beast of a Q.

What's under that bonnet of hers?

 

[Nismonath5]

Roxanne sounds like an angry beast of a Q.

What's under that bonnet of hers?

She's got a Lexus quad cam V8 under there, the exact power varies depending on who's asking but the average seems to float around the 400bhp mark.

 

[Pete05]

She's got a Lexus quad cam V8 under there, the exact power varies depending on who's asking but the average seems to float around the 400bhp mark.

I knew it was something other than a Holden V8. Wasn't convinced it was a Chev LS with some sort of wild exhaust system either so had to ask the question.

 

[Nismonath5]

Well, it's been very quiet thanks to Covid, but we were able to have one last hurrah for 2021 in the form of the Pukekohe 12 Hour NAZCAR event!!

We didn't front any cars, instead we opted to give back to the event and take on a couple of volunteer roles. Mike took on the esteemed honor of being the Chief Judge, dishing out penalties and punishments for sub-par driving talent and mistakes in the pits while I was more of a photographer / videographer for the weekend.

The event was scaled down to just over 20 teams due to Covid restrictions, but despite the smaller turnout it was just as awesome a spectacle! Pukekohe Park is always a great place to race, and we were really looking forward to racing there just before Covid returned, cancelling the final round of the NAZCAR Pro Series.

So that wraps up our 2021, thanks heaps to everyone who's supported us here and across our socials. 2022 is looking set to be a massive year for us, assuming Covid doesn't come to mess things up again. For now though, it's time to take a bit to relax and be with family!

Merry Christmas, have a happy new year and see you in 2022 from Nathan and Mike!
Hooncorp

 

[Nismonath5]

⚠️ Breaking News ⚠️

Hooncorp x Rusty Gecko joint entry into Lemon Squeeze event and for once it's not a Nissan!!

We're starting off the new year by running the compacted "Lemon Squeeze" event, a short one day format where the proceedings of a 24 hour race are squashed into 8 hours!

Because our new cars are still in construction, we'll be fronting this incredible AE101 at Hampton Downs! This is going to be great fun and we can't wait to get back into the swing of competition, having taken on a helping role in recent events.

Check out the car!!

 

[Nismonath5]

Well folks, it finally happened! Our first ever Lemons / NAZCAR outright podium finish!!

So how exactly did it go down? Well...

The forecast was supposed to be rather wet, but the start was hot and dry. Most of you who have followed our races over the years will know that we usually go over and above with spare parts and resources to ensure we see the finish. But because this was in comparison just a fun entry for a bit of racing enjoyment, we had very little. Some spare tyres, but nothing else, not even a set of brakes. So the hotter than anticipated weather raised questions on whether we would last the distance, or run out of brake pads.

Driving duties dream team!

The driving duties were carried out by myself, Zef, and Richard, the Pro Series trio who had secured 2nd in class last year. Zef started the race, and straight away we were in the top 15. The start was phenomenally trouble free, with no safety car intervention during Zef's 90 minute first stint.

All the while, Mike was officially the Chief Judge of the event, responsible for penalizing average driving and mind farts.

Richard took over and drove for about a half hour when it became apparent that the fuel wouldn't last much longer than two hours on a tank. Being a completely different car, we had nothing as far as fuel numbers or readouts, so we just played it by whatever the fuel gauge had said. A couple of safety cars served to help out the fuel conserving, but by the time I was due to climb in, it was bone dry.

Not our most sophisticated pit bay setup, but it did the job!

With a full tank, I got asked half an hour into my drive if I would be able to do a double stint. I thought it was a big ask, but some more safety car interventions broke up the action and gave me chances to wind down the windows and cool off as we putted around. I was still knackered when I climbed out of the car, but we were sitting inside the top 10 now, floating around 7th and 8th.

The day remained dry, not even the threat of rain like we'd been warned about. The tyres were holding up just fine, the brakes were making a bit of noise but still doing the job, and we were benefitting from others' mistakes. A BMW 318i stacked it into the wall hard, a Celica suffered a late race penalty, and finally an EG Civic dropped its sump plug and doused the track in oil. That last issue caused the race to be called under safety car, essentially handing us our first ever podium without having to contest that final push!!

Go, Gecko, GO!!!

Needless to say, the entire team is ecstatic with the result. We turned up hoping to have some fun, expecting the car to go bang and when it did, we would resume our "official" duties within NAZCAR. Instead we were on the podium!

"Coming Soon To A Pro Series Near You..."

The next event on the calendar is in May, a three day 24 hour event. At the moment though our priority is the 2022 Pro Series, and getting the parts and funds to have the new build ready in time.