SuperCool Competitions Department Events and Milestones
The Big Chill is a favourite event on the historic motorcycling racing calendar which has been hosted by QEMSC since 2010.
This was the first occasion the Big Chill was run at Morgan Park, and the turnout was one of the biggest for this event. Competitors came from Interstate and North Queensland, including some from the Isle of Man and Scotland. There were 137 entries, including 14 Period 2 solos and 18 Sidecars, which pleased everyone to see these two classes growing and doing so well.
The post-race report issued by the club (QEMSC) described the two days of competition and fun.
The weather appeared as though it may have threatened the first day’s racing, however, the weather gods were kind to the Big Chill, with barely three drops of rain falling just after sunrise on Saturday morning. The action commenced on Saturday morning and after only one qualifying session, the competitors hit the track with gusto.
Racing commenced mid-morning, which saw a break in the racing action due to an oil spill and a couple of unfortunate off’s, but the action soon fired up again just after lunch. With bellies full, the racing continued after lunch without any further delays, with all Classes completing their first heats. A total of 17 sidecars lined up on the grid, displaying one of the largest historic sidecar fields in the country. The performance from these thrill-seekers is always a crowd favourite.
The weather was brilliant with low humidity and clear skies being the perfect recipe for making horsepower and the Superbikes took full advantage of it tracking around the K circuit at blistering speeds. Several of the existing lap records tumbled, with three new records being set over the course of the weekend.
Our Supercool Competitions Department team was supported by staff members Frances Moser, Danny Drennan and Khoi Truong. Other family members also pitched in, Frances was accompanied by Hyahno, Lily, and Ralph, and Danny with his son Connor.
In the true spirit of teamwork, every little bit of effort from everyone helped make the weekend a great success and lots of fun. Thanks to great photography skills from Hyahno and Ken, we have some terrific images of the event. Professional photographer Jeff Basely took the fast-moving on-track photos of Max on both bikes.
Mark’s grand children Lily and Ralph getting into the serious atmosphere of motorcycle racing
Khoi, Danny, Jim and Mark looking for a solution to a failed clutch
The gearing setup was left as it was at the Condamine Classic in April – 16-tooth front sprocket and 36 on the rear, but we changed the main jet size #220 in each carburettor in anticipation of having higher relative air density, which turned out to be in the range of 93-96% over two days.
The result was almost perfect EGT readings in the first practice session and race at 1077 and 1074 °F. The bike was strong, and our rider Daniel was confident and comfortable with the setup. He qualified on poll for our class with a best lap time of 01.49.694.
The first race was the same; Daniel rode like a champion and won comfortably by 10.794 seconds with a best lap time of 1.47.257, which he did on the second lap.
Unfortunately, on the last lap the clutch stopped engaging properly, so to eliminate any risk of seizure or further damage, the clutch was dismantled before race 2, and it was evident that the shaft spacer under the main clutch basket had completely seized onto the secondary drive shaft. We couldn’t rectify this without a new spacer, so we made the decision not to race the 125 in the remaining races.
It was not the happiest moment in the world, but from another perspective we could see that our race times on this bike are improving at each event, and this time we achieved the fastest lap time of all the Period 4 and 5 machines. Fastest Period 5 lap was 01.47.769 versus Daniel’s best race lap of 01.47.257.
This race win gave us 25 points to place us third overall for the P4 Ultra-lightweight round.
Starting the 125 for the first race
The great thing about historic motorcycle racing, it is fun even when things go wrong. The clutch on the 125 has definitely said no to the next race. Danny, Mark and Jim enjoy the moment.
Results: Qualifying
Results: Race 1
Results: placings for points and overall round position
Max and the AS3 125 in race 1
Our TD3 was dyno-tested in our environmental chamber two weeks prior. We used conditions that we most likely expected to encounter at Morgan Park in winter. Ambient temperature was 16-17ºC, RH 59% and RAD 100%. Ideal carburettor settings were adjusted to #320 main jet and needle on slot 2.
With these settings on the dyno, we achieved EGT temperatures of 1167-1166ºF, but during qualifying we measured higher levels at 1218-1232 ºF when the RAD was 96.2% and ambient of 11.4ºC, which proves there is nothing like on-track conditions to prove what the maximum limits are. We mistakenly only did 3 laps when we should have done 5, but we ended fourth on the grid with a best lap time of 01:48.418.
The first race went well; we ran second with a gap of 3.23 seconds and a best lap of 01:43.937. The EGT levels were higher at 1256-1297ºF, so we decided to richen the mixture with needle back on slot 3.
The second race was a closer result, ran second with a gap of 0.78 seconds and a best lap of 01:46.022. EGT was similar at 1256-1277°F, which we decided was too high, so we increased the main jet size to #340 for the next race.
In race 3 we ran third with a gap of 6.433 and a best lap time of 1:43.923. Max felt that top end power was still ok, but he was having trouble on mid-throttle and pulling out of the back section corners. We put this down to a rich mixture on the needle, so we went back to slot 2 for the next race.
The fourth and final race was low on final finishers, but we were still up against the most consistent and fastest rider over the weekend, Barry Knight, but we managed our first win with a gap of 0.104 seconds, and managed to be in front of some of the Period 5 riders. The throttle response was good, and EGT levels measured at 1227- 1252 °F. Ambient had risen to 18.7ºC, and RAD was 93.4%.
Overall, we placed second in the Period 4 Lightweight class with 83 points.
Starting the 250 for the first race
Ready to go
On the dummy grid before the first 250 race
Picturesque Morgan Park and the start of the second 250 race
Results: Qualifying
Results: Race 1
Results: Race 2
Results: Race 3
Results: Race 4
Results: placings for points and overall round position
Max and the TD3 250 accelerating up the hill
Fran is a central figure in the support and logistics for the Competitions Department. She is the SuperCool Group Administration Manager and Mark’s daughter.
Lily taking in some details from her grandfather
Ralph looking after the trailer
Ken Newton – still enthusiastic after 39 years of managing marketing and publicity in the world of SuperCool
Both bikes had new expansion chamber exhaust systems fitted with integrated silencers. These were fabricated by master craftsman Ian Lovelle at Servalloy.
We asked Ian to integrate the silencers into the stingers, which we believe is a more reliable and attractive alternative to screwing tin can type silencers onto the ends.
Ian did a great job by keeping the design quite close to the original Yamaha systems, but he had to sacrifice some volume in the belly and baffle sections. The stinger is slightly longer, but the header and diffuser sections are the same as original dimensions.
From a performance perspective, the engine torque is present at lower revs with the overall power band finishing slightly lower at 9300-9800. The sound levels of the original expansion chambers are typically >110 dB, and the new systems have reduced this to <98 dB.
The South East Queensland Cup was run over three meetings in 2026.
We entered Daniel in the series for Period 4 Ultra-lightweight 125cc machines, with his results in the Condamine Classic and Big Chill counting towards overall points in the competition.
We were unable to compete in the third meeting held at Queensland Raceway, However the points gained placed him second overall. A good result.
Daniel with Jim and Mark receiving his trophy for second place in the South East Queensland Cup
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