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Another Excelsior-JAP outside the garage (Brooklands Museum).


Inside the garage in about 1932 with Excelsior racing bikes and Charles Needham’s 4.5-litre Low Chassis Invicta (Brooklands Museum).


which he could take the fastest records. Work therefore began in the garage on an unsuper- charged V-twin, 996cc Brough Superior. By the time of the 1935 Olympia Show it was on display as the fastest unblown motorcycle, having been timed on the Railway Straight at 135mph. The search for more speed was never ending and the next project involved Barry Baragwanath, Henry Laird and Jack Granville Grenfell, all advising Eric with regard to a blown version of the Brough. In September 1936 it was timed at over 150mph along the measured half-mile on the Railway Straight, with the machine still accelerating. Eric was confident he could beat Ernst Henne’s record speed of 159.1mph, so the following month the Fernihough team set off to the Frankfurt- Darmstadt autobahn with both the blown and unblown Brough Superior bikes. Mechanical problems and officialdom made life difficult, but


36


Possibly the same Invicta outside the garage (Brooklands Museum).


the standing start kilometre record was taken at 98.91mph on Sunday 12th October. The Fernihough Fordson van then headed off to Gyon near Budapest where speed trials were being held on the 21st of the month. At last they were in luck as Eric took the standing start mile record back from Henne at 108.24mph, but could only achieve 161mph for the flying kilometre. At this time the supercharged Brough was fitted with a streamlined front head cowl, a bottom engine and gearbox enclosure and a disc rear wheel. In 1937 the streamlining was extended to cover the whole rear of the bike, whilst the following year saw a totally ‘enclosed’ Brough. After a short stay at home for the Olympia


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