Real name Carlo Franchi, the name Gimax came from putting his two children's names - Gigi and Massimo (Max) together. Away from the sport, he was a successful businessman, which allowed him the fund to race and to take up the sport properly in his thirties, although he actually started racing earlier than that, competing in Italian Formula 3 in 1964 and 1965, racing a Lotus-Ford and a Wainer-Ford. Suffered a heart-attack in 2002, but has made an excellent recovery, although unfortunately he also suffered another stroke in his later years which left him wheelchair bound. That said he was a frequent visitor to motorsport events. The 1977 Class Two European Sportscar Champion, Franchi spent most of his career as a sportscar driver in Italian endurance events, but he also spent a two year spell in the Aurora British F1 series. He retired from racing in 1984. His son (Gigi) also raced in the sport for a while as Gimax Jr.

Biography last updated 28 Nov 2021