Giannini! You probably loved or hated the guy but no question he was a constant racing enthusiast. He gave wera rides to Chris Marshall. Chris Kelleher Tom Turnbull Bucky Sexton Tex Mawby Tim Tilghman "Midge" Midgely and probably more I'm missing. Built superfast Italian stuff in the mid late 90s and the last 10 years some dominant Honda twins. His contribution to early vintage racing is going to be missed noticeably.. photos credit Chris Marshall
A note from Bob Coy: Many of you only knew Frank from recent years with his super fast Honda race team of Rich Midgley, Tim Tilghman, Kerry Smith and Mat Tanner. In addition to the previously noted riders of his 350 and 405 Hondas, Frank tuned, built engines and built bikes for many notable riders of the 70's, 80's to the present....Kurt Liebman, Chris Marshall, Chris Kelliher, Mark Heckles, George Schultz, Doug Donelan and other top riders whose names are now escaping my aging memory. With these riders, Frank firmly cemented his wizardry with racing and building top machines. Frank, a trained orchestra conductor and the the son of a Doctor, had a history with road racing that went back many many years. Frank was first a racer himself in the early AAMRR days of the mid 60's. He raced and tuned some of the exotic European bikes of the times when the Japanese started their eventual domination of the sport. After Frank retired from racing himself he then went on to become a very talented tuner, master machinist, engine builder, designer and race bike builder helping upcoming riders realize their racing dreams and talent on the track. Years ago Frank made a name for himself developing some of the outstanding small pocket bike race bikes an engines with Pollini. A connoisseur of all fine machinery Frank over the years, collected, loved, worked on and drove some of the world's most exotic cars. Frank, for a time, helped work on and rebuild some of the ultra rare Team Obsolete collection as well as helping with the transition of Cosmopolitan Motors in its later years. Frank passed after a long battle with declining health that may have been connected to very early COVID 19 from 2019. In speaking to Frank a week or so ago he was very optimistic about his recovery and was planning his racing adventures for later this year. Our thoughts go out to his wife Tula, his family and friends. Frank with his friendship, willingness to help others and vast technical knowledge will be sorely missed...God speed Frank. Bob Coy I liked the guy, but sometimes he could be a PITA. A couple of years ago, a competitor's clutch started grabbing on the starting line. He made a big stink about the "jump", but I felt that under the circumstances, I was going to let it slide. I thought the issue was settled, but at trophies, his rider got the win. I was like, "Jesus, Uch, your rider got beat by a mile!" I needled him about it for the rest of the season, because he broke my 21 year streak.
He was a good guy. I had a great conversation with him a few years back and he wanted to build an Aeromacchi 350 for me. He just wanted me to supply a certain year and model 350 and a ton of money and he would do the rest. The man knew his bikes. Truly a joy to visit with at the track.
