The Bantam Forum.

Ah, Tim,
             You conjure up warm memories of those uncomplicated days of that age of innocence we both remember and miss! I used to stop at the local garage fill the old Shell 2 gallon can with 5 star petrol (101 octane and a shed load of lead) then at the circuit mix up a race long quantity with R30 and go and have fun racing; safe in the knowledge that both fuel and oil were the best to be had. As a bonus, any petrol left over at the end of the day could then be poured into the transport tank to get you home. Mind you an old friend recently cautioned that; “nostalgia ain`t what it used to be”?
I`m not sure if it is of any help, but as a general rule when juggling the merits of Avgas or unleaded that, Avgas needs a high comp ratio to begin to work correctly, likes to run lean but hates ignition advance. Unleaded is the reverse, hates comp, loves running rich and needs a bit of ignition advance.
My good friend Steve Hall successfully compensated for both types of fuel when racing his 125 RS Honda, for unleaded Optimax we used a lower comp head insert, jacked up the jetting and, depending on the circuit and weather, tweeked the ignition advance. With Avgas the highest comp head insert was substituted, jetting came down, and a touch of ignition retard dialled in, dead reliable and won many races with both set ups, and he always swore by Castrol 747 oil. Your future post on fuel should be worth reading along with any other tales and photos you care to share with us. The transition from bike racer to jump jockey must have a tale there to tell.
Yours is only the second case of a fasciectomy I have come across, a school colleague of my wife, her husband has such surgery and I can remember his fingers were curled like claws prior to the procedure to remedy this. Knowing how invasive the operation is I can well imagine just how tricky and uncomfortable it must be for you to type out a post.

Cheers for now, Trevor

You are spot on about my claw-like hand Trevor. At the end of last season I was struggling to reach the front brake lever! (The scrutineers don't have Dupuytrens on their list! It seems that this is a genetic disorder, affecting Vikings particularly. You can glean from the red hair in the photo an indication of my ancestry. Maybe the claw resulted from all the rowing!

Before running the Greeves in anger, I spent some time delving into the chemistry of AVGAS, and in particular its suitability for two stroke race engines. I came across some useful research into volatility, distillation curves, energy content comparisons based on mass spectrometry, and so on. As you know, fuels today, given the multitude of competing requirements, are truly designer-led. Without wishing to lose a chance to write in with the details, I should say that I have reached the conclusion that AVGAS 100LL is probably safe for racing an old piston-port, but does not met the fuel demands of a racing two stroke in an optimal way, and consequently I have decided not to use it. More to follow when my fingers are moving more freely!

Tim.

Ah! Welcome to the club - the DuPuytrens club, that is. I had the operation on my left hand, about five years ago. The fingers had clenched inwards so much that I could hardly operate the clutch lever - and I struggled to get a glove on my hand. The op. was a great success, and improved my ukulele playing immensely.

Good morning John. Couldn't resist sharing! This op is bloody marvellous. So nice to get my fingers straight again, and I can now wash my face without sticking my finger in my eye! This was two days after op and the zig-zag incisions are healing fast. Will be driving next week.

Tim.

Hi Tim! That looks almost exactly like mine did, 'cept mine was the left. Same two fingers, same zig-zag incisions. Almost six years later and I've had no trouble at all. There was some sensitivity and tingly numbness to start with, but that fades away.

When I first discussed the condition with my doctor, he advised me not to have an operation. That was a few years earlier when they used to sever the tendons and re-attach them. It was a mixture of butchery and bodgery, and often made things worse. Then this latest method was developed which is much less invasive - and highly successful.

I remember asking the surgeon if I would be able to play the ukulele. He looked at me wearily and replied, "That rather depends upon whether you can play the ukulele BEFORE you have the operation". I gathered it was not the first time he had been asked such a question!

Put your new hand to good use.

JC.