Jarno Saarinen
Jarno Saarinen (December 11, 1945 - May 20, 1973) was a Finnish motorcycle racer who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. He was the first Finn to win road racing World Championship.
Career
Saarinen was born and raised in Turku, Finland. He won the ice track racing championship in Finland. He was also good at motorcycle speedway racing. Saarinen made his first appearance in road racing World Championship at Imatra, Finland in 1968. He finished 9th in the 125cc class.
During the 1970 season, at the age of 25, Saarinen competed in the 250cc class. He had studied mechanical engineering and thus could fix his bike in addition to riding it. These skills combined made him able to develop a new riding style. Saarinen was the first to ride corners with knee near to ground. Later Kenny Roberts perfected the style, which is still in use in road racing.
In 1971 Saarinen competed in both 250cc and 350cc classes. Saarinen won his first World Championship Grand Prix in Czechoslovakia in 1971 in the 350cc class. He finished second in 250cc World Championship and third in 350cc. His success didn't go unnoticed. Yamaha signed him to ride its 250cc and 350cc bikes in the 1972 season. Saarinen delivered what was expected and won the 250cc World Championship. He finished second in 350cc World Championship, which was won by Giacomo Agostini.
Yamaha developed a new four cylinder two-stroke 500cc bike for the 1973 season and chose Saarinen to ride it. Finally Saarinen was ready to challenge Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read in 500cc World Championship. Saarinen's 1973 season started amazingly well, given the fact he competed in 250cc, 350cc and 500cc classes. He led the 250cc and 500cc World Championships after the first three Grand Prix.
Unfortunately all good things come to an end. The fourth Grand Prix of the season was held in Monza, Italy. On 20th May, 1973 Renzo Pasolini, who was leading the 250cc race, fell in the corner called Curva Grande. It was dangerously slippery due to an oil leak in the earlier 125cc race. Saarinen, who was second, couldn't evade Pasolini and a crash was inevitable. Both riders died in the accident. Yamaha pulled out of racing for the rest of the season to honour Saarinen's memory.
Saarinen won 15 Grand Prix during his career.
Trivia
- Saarinen is the only Finnish road racer to win a World Championship.
- He still has an active fan club in Italy.
- Italian Formula 1 driver Jarno Trulli was named after Jarno Saarinen.
- He was the first European to win the Daytona 200 race in USA in 1973.
External links
- Helsingin Sanomat featured an article on Saarinen on 20.11.1999
- A gallery of pictures from the road racing event held at Imatra, Finland in 1972. Includes a picture of the infamous Saarinen postage stamp printed in Equatorial Guinea.