A Life with Ducati: The Riccardo Frisoli Story:

When a men fresh from Italy stepped off the boat at the docks in Durban one fine day in
January 1959, it was perhaps inevitable that his fortune would be linked with that of Ducati in newly adopted country. In his country of birth he learnt his trade working with metal in his own village and served his apprenticeship on Lancia cars. Bein able to fashioniron and other metals must have given him a feel for steel and aluminium and thereby created that special affinity between human and metal so special in Italian machinery. Furthermore Ducati desmo valve gear would never hold any terrors for
Someone accustomed to the intricacies particular to Lancias such as narrow V4 engines and scissor action front suspensions. The nearest he got to two wheel in Italy , however,
Was when he and a friend were allowed to borrow the boss’Vespa for a trip to the sea
From time to time. Apart from these excursions, Riccardo Frisoli has throughout his life
Maintained a prudent distance from riding two wheelers himself: his were to exclusively the joys of technical intricacies and expertise. For exercise he has always played tennis and more recently has become a stalwart of the Bocce(Italian Bowls) circuit.

After arriving in Johannesburg, Riccardo went to work as a mechanic, working on cars, before being made an offer 1960 to work for KMM by Mr. K himself. As technical manager for the Moto Guzzi and Ducati distributor he found himself workin on Moto Guzzis, Ducatis, Vespas and even assisting Giacomo Agostini when he raced M.V.’s in South Africa in the early 1970’s.
In addition Riccardo assisted Johan and Heinrich Boshoff in racing some of the first Ducati singles imported into South Africa.

After KMM closed down he and Tonino Gerini started Mach II Motors in Doorfontein,
Johannesburg, dedicated first and foremost to servicing Ducatis, but also all other motorcycles.
At the time VETSAK, an agricultural organization and importer of Fiat tractors, was the
Importer of Ducati motorcycles and brought in bikes and spares, but all servicing and technical assistance to customers were in effect provided by Riccardo and Tonino at Mach II Motors, which subsequently became the importer as well.

Riccardo became the workshop manager of Continental Motorcycles when they took over
As importer and with the arrival of the first Pantah, Continental Cycles went production racing. Soon Keith, Dave and Robbie Petersen were dominating the 500 and 750 classes with 500 and 600 Panthas respectively. At this time South African production racing was probably the most competitive form of production racing to be found anywhere in the world. Riders had to qualify to be allowed to start, being subject to a 40 odd bikes  limitation in each class. It was unheard of for a 600cc twin to win not only races, but championships against four cylinder 750cc competition.
Even the 500cc class the capacity limitation was increased to give 550cc and eventually 575cc to give four cylinder machines at least a chance to beat 490cc Ducati twin. Despite many technical protests and strip downs Ducati won the 500cc class in 1980. In fact for a
Period of three consecutive years from 1980 to 1982 Ducati did not loose a single race in the 500(or 550 or 575cc) production class- all with a twin competing against bigger capacity four cylinder bikes. In 750 class Ducati won the championship in 1981 with a 600cc twin competing against 650cc four cylinder bikes. (Compare this with the present World Supersport formula allowing 750cc Ducati twins to compete against four cylinder 600cc Japanese competition).

It got to the stage where the South African Kawasaki importer bought a Ducati of their own as control for their next protest and stripdown against the little Ducati twins. At the
Inevitable next protest against Ducati it was argued that it was only fair that all the bikes which finished ahead of the Ducatis also be stripped and not only the Ducatis. This was done and all the bikes ahead of the Ducatis were promptly excluded for infringements after being stripped, resulting in Ducatis once again ending up in first and second position!

All this led to the fame of the ever amicable Riccardo Frisoli spreading far beyond the borders of South Africa. Even in Australia, were production racing was also taken seriously, he earned a reputation as the preparer of the fastest production Ducatis in the world. He even prepared an engine for racing in the Isle of Man. When his engine allowed the rider to pass World Champion Tony Rutter on the works Ducati going up Snaefell Mountain, a few people at the Ducati factory and elsewhere might have wondered what sort of South African whitchdoctor “muti” Riccardo is putting in his engines. Could that be why the same engine disappeared in transit on its way back from the Isle of Man to South Africa, never to be seen again?

Since 1994 Riccardo and his sons, Toni and David, have developed Moto Frisoli and subsequently Ducati Edevale dedicated to servicing and (of course!) racing Ducatis. The fledgling Moto Frisoli Racing School eventually became S.A. Biking Academy, while as many as 14 different Ducatis were at the same time prepared for regional racing. Moto Frisoli eve prepared a Ducati 996 for Clinton Pienaar to race in the first South African Superbike Round( incidentally lying fourteen and in the points when the oil pump broke). They won the 2001 and 2002 regional South African Superbike Championships and cleaned up the Battle of the Twins from 2002 to 2005, each year with a different rider.

Although never one to suffer fools gladly, Riccardo has always been known for his friendliness and approachability in the pits, or wherever- as demonstrated by the famous Frisoli simile on all the racing team photos! But the again, winning does make it easier to smile….
Riccardo has of course many times been back to the Ducati factory in Bologna, but lately the Old Man, as they call him here, has been received with more and more appreciation and respect for what he has achived against the odds. In good years and bad years Riccardo Frisoli has been the human face of Ducati in South Africa. It is fortuitous indeed that his sons, Toni and David Frisoli, are continuing this tradition with him at Ducati Evenvale.