Jarno Saarinen

Infobox Former Grand Prix motorcycle rider


Caption =
Name = Jarno Saarinen
Nationality = flagicon|Finland Finnish
Years = 1970 – 1973
Teams = Yamaha
Races = 46
Championships = 250cc – 1972
Wins = 15
Podiums = 32
Points =
Poles = N/A
Fastest laps = N/A
First race = 1970 250cc West German Grand Prix
First win = 1971 350cc Czechoslovakian Grand Prix
Last win = 1973 250cc West German Grand Prix
Last race = 1973 250cc Nations Grand Prix

Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen (December 11, 1945 in Turku, Finland – May 20, 1973 in Monza, Italy) was a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is the only Finn to win a road racing World Championship.

Career

Early in Saarinen's career he won the Finnish ice track racing championship. Saarinen was also an accomplished motorcycle speedway racer. He had studied mechanical engineering and thus could modify his bike in addition to riding it. For example, in order for him to ride using his "hang-off" style, he lowered the handle bars and angled them downwards at an extreme angle. He learned this from his previous experience as an ice racer which allowed him to develop a new riding style. Saarinen was the first to ride corners with his body hanging off the bike and with his knee on the ground. Kenny Roberts would later perfect the style after watching Saarinen race. The style is predominantly still in use today.

Saarinen began his Grand Prix career during the 1970 season, at the age of 25. He would finish in a respectable fourth place in the 250cc class. In 1971 Saarinen competed in both 250cc and 350cc classes. Saarinen won his first Grand Prix that year, claiming the 350cc class in Czechoslovakia. He finished third in 250cc World Championship and second in 350cc. His success didn't go unnoticed as Yamaha signed him to ride its TD3 and TR3 bikes for the 1972 season. Saarinen delivered as expected, winning the 250cc World Championship. He finished second in 350cc World Championship, giving defending champion Giacomo Agostini a strong challenge.

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 the 500cc class with competitive equipment. Saarinen's 1973 season started amazingly well, given the fact he competed in the 250cc and 500cc classes. He became the first European rider to win the prestigious Daytona 200 race in the United States. Returning to Europe, he jumped to an early lead in the Grand Prix championship race by winning the first three 250cc rounds and two out of three 500cc rounds. It seemed he was on the brink of running away with the titles.

However, the 1973 season ended in tragedy. On May 20, 1973, the fourth Grand Prix of the season was held at Monza near Milan, Italy, a very fast track, with few strong chicanes.

The race leader, Renzo Pasolini fell in front of Saarinen, who was in second place. He couldn't avoid the fallen rider and the resulting crash caused a multiple rider pile up. In all, 14 riders were embroiled in the mayhem that resulted. When the dust cleared, Jarno and Pasolini laid dead with many other riders seriously injured.

Over the years, the crash has been subject to significant controversy. The original cause of the crash was attributed to a spill left on the track during the 350cc race when Walter Villa's Benelli began leaking on the penultimate lap. Race officials neglected to clean up the spillage prior to the 250cc race, and one rider, John Dodds, made his concerns known to authorities, only to meet with threats of ejection from the circuit by police.

However, some articles have appeared showing photos of Pasolini's bike consistent with the bike having seized. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060821050727/http://www.tz350.net/roger_gowenlock_stories3.htm]

Not only did this incident take the lives of the two top competitors, but after the race, the factory-teams of Suzuki, MV Agusta, Harley Davidson, and Yamaha all joined together to fight for better race conditions. Yamaha went even further by pulling out of racing the rest of the year to honour Saarinen's memory. However, only forty days later, three riders in a Juniors race were killed in the same turn. From that day until 1981, all motorcycle racing at Monza was banned. The tragedy saw the end of a racing regime which had not adjusted to changing times.

Jarno Saarinen's legacy continues to live on. There is still an active Saarinen fan club in Italy. The birth name "Jarno" become very popular in Italy of many newborn boys in the '70s. One of them is Jarno Trulli, the present Formula-1 driver. Saarinen remains the only Finn to have won a road racing world championship, winning 15 Grand Prix during his career.

=Motorcycle Grand Prix results cite news | url=http://www.motogp.com/en/riders/profiles/Jarno+Saarinen | title=Rider Statistics - Jarno Saarinen | publisher=MotoGP.com | accessdate=2008-08-31 ] =

() (Races in bold indicate pole position)

References

*"50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix" (1st edition). Hazelton Publishing Ltd, 1999. ISBN 1-874557-83-7

External links

* [http://www.motoclubjarnosaarinen.com/ Saarinen fan site]
* Helsingin Sanomat featured [http://www2.helsinginsanomat.fi/english/archive/thisweek/47051999.html an article on Saarinen] on 20.11.1999
* [http://www.kakeh.com/imatra/galler72.htm 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.