Collection Item

Doug Earle Cotton JAP

A replica of a Brooklands Outer Circuit racer of the 1930s with the Brooklands Can, a large exhaust silencer.

Doug Earle, who raced Zenith bikes at Brooklands in 1938, created this in later life as a replica of a 1930s Outer Circuit racer. The Cotton frame is the oldest component dating from 1928 and it is believed the frame was used for grass track racing after the war. The methanol run JAP engine is a speedway unit dating from 1938. Both makes were used for many of Brooklands famous race bikes.

The large exhaust silencer is known as a Brooklands Can. Following two court cases during the mid-1920s concerning noise from the circuit this type of design became mandatory for all racing cars and bikes.