Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen (11 December 1945 – 20 May 1973) was a Finnish professional Motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1968 to 1971 as Yamaha privateer, before receiving the Yamaha factory's full support in 1972 and 1973. In the early 1970s, he was considered one of the most promising and talented motorcycle road racers of his era until he was killed during the 1973 Nations Grand Prix in Italy. Saarinen's death led to increased demands for better safety conditions for motorcycle racers competing in the world championships. He remains the only Finn to have won a solo motorcycle road racing world championship. Saarinen was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2009.
Saarinen was born and raised in Turku, South-West Finland. At the age of 15, he worked as apprentice and test-rider for Tunturi-Puch, motorcycle factory in Turku where mopeds and motorcycles were assembled under licence from the Austrian Puch manufacturer. Saarinen made his racing debut in an ice race at Ylone in 1961, finishing in second place. He and his close friend Teuvo Länsivuori participated in ice racing and grasstrack racing as well as road racing.
In 1965, Saarinen won the 250cc Finnish ice racing national championship ahead of Länsivuori, Martti Pesonen, and future 500cc Motocross World Champion, Heikki Mikkola. Saarinen was also an accomplished motorcycle speedway racer. On 4 August 1968, he made his Grand Prix debut at Imatra, riding a 125cc Puch to an 11th place in the Finnish Grand Prix, in which he was lapped three times by world champions Phil Read and Bill Ivy. In 1969, he won the 125cc and 250cc Finnish motorcycle road racing national championships while acting as his own mechanic.
Saarinen was noted for his distinctive riding style in which he kept his chest just above the motorcycle's fuel tank, and for the way he negotiated curves by shifting his body towards the inside of a turn while extending his knee out. His riding style, and the way he made his rear tyre slide in the turns influenced future world champion, Kenny Roberts, when he witnessed Saarinen during a race at the Ontario Motor Speedway in 1972. Saarinen rode at the Ontario Champion Sparkplugs Classic in 1972, aboard a privately entered ex-works Al Godin Yamaha 350cc. Saarinen was also noted for the peculiar way in which he angled his handlebars in an almost vertical position.
Saarinen competed in his first full year in the 1970 250cc championship while continuing to act as his own mechanic. He convinced three bank managers to fund his racing career under the mistaken belief that they were financing his education. He finished the season in fourth place despite missing the final three rounds of the championship to complete his education by graduating as an engineer from the Turku Technical Institute.
In 1971, Giacomo Agostini was the reigning three-time 350cc world champion riding for MV Agusta however, Saarinen served notice by winning his first 350cc Grand Prix race in Czechoslovakia after Agostini's motorcycle had a mechanical failure. He then finished second to Agostini in the Finnish Grand Prix before winning the Nations Grand Prix in Italy. Saarinen competed in both 250cc and 350cc classes in 1971, finishing third in 250cc World Championship and second to Agostini in the 350cc class.
The title fight in the 1971 50cc World Championship between the Derbi and Kreidler factories was so heated, that the Kreidler team hired Saarinen and Barry Sheene in support of their rider, Jan de Vries, while the Derbi team hired Gilberto Parlotti to support Ángel Nieto. At the season-ending Spanish Grand Prix, Saarinen placed second behind de Vries, helping the Kreidler team secure the 50cc World Championship for de Vries.
Saarinen's success didn't go unnoticed as the Yamaha factory contracted him to ride their 350cc factory YZ634 motorcycles for the 1972 season. Saarinen was also riding a 250cc Yamaha TD3 production racer supplied by the Finnish Yamaha Importer, Arwidson Oy. The 1972 250cc World Championship began with four different race-winners, (Hideo Kanaya, Phil Read, Börje Jansson, and Renzo Pasolini), however Saarinen led Pasolini in the championship points race due to his consistent results. His meticulous preparation of his motorcycle saw him score points in every race, including three podium finishes, while his rivals failed to capitalize. The Yamaha factory recalled Kanaya back to Japan for testing duties after the second Grand Prix in France, while Read and Jansson failed to score points.
After the Yugoslavian Grand Prix on June 18, the Yamaha factory gave Saarinen the factory 250cc Yamaha YZ635 that had been assigned to Barry Sheene, after the British rider had been sidelined by a broken collar bone during practice for the Nations Grand Prix and had complained about the motorcycle's performance. Saarinen rewarded Yamaha's faith in him by winning four of the last six Grand Prix races to clinch the 250cc World Championship, after a season-long battle with Renzo Pasolini and Rod Gould.
Saarinen finished second in the 1972 350cc World Championship, giving defending champion Giacomo Agostini a strong challenge by winning three races, including a victory at the German Grand Prix held at the daunting Nürburgring race track, where Saarinen inflicted Agostini his first defeat in a head-to-head race since the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix. He also scored a double victory at the Czechoslovak Grand Prix with victories in both the 250cc and 350cc classes. The threat from Saarinen's performance was so strong that the previously dominant MV Agusta factory was forced to produce a new 350cc motorcycle for Agostini and to hire Phil Read as his teammate for the remainder of the season. After the world championship season ended, Saarinen traveled to Great Britain where he won an astonishing nine wins in as many races, including the Race of the Year invitational held at Mallory Park.
At the end of the season, Saarinen was contacted by the Benelli factory about the possibility of riding 350cc and 500cc Benellis in the 1973 world championships. After a secret test ride at Modena, he rode Benellis to victories over Agostini in the 350cc and 500cc races at the Pesaro street circuit. However, in February 1973 the Yamaha factory announced they would enter a factory team in the 250cc and 500cc classes in 1973, with Saarinen as their top rider, alongside Hideo Kanaya to compete on the newly developed YZR250 and YZR500. The factory team also meant that he was provided with mechanics for his motorcycles, freeing him to concentrate on racing. With Saarinen signed to a contract, and a new 4-cylinder 2-stroke YZR500 0W20, Yamaha was finally ready to challenge MV Agusta's sixteen-year reign in the 500cc class with a competitive package.
Saarinen started the 1973 season competing in the season-opening Daytona 200, riding a Yamaha TZ 350 production racer against much larger 750cc motorcycles from the Kawasaki and Suzuki factory racing teams. The Kawasaki team fielded a total of six factory riders aboard its potent 750cc Kawasaki H2R, including former Daytona winner Gary Nixon and Yvon Duhamel, while the Suzuki team had four riders, with New Zealand Champion Geoff Perry and Don Emde as its top riders aboard the Suzuki TR750. As the race began, the Kawasakis and Suzuki teams took the lead, but one by one Saarinen's competitors began to abandon the race, either from crashes or mechanical failures. Saarinen patiently waited until taking the race lead on lap 32 and held on to take the victory ahead of Yamaha teammate Kel Carruthers. Saarinen became the first European rider to win the Daytona 200, which at the time, was considered one of the most prestigious motorcycle races in the world.
Saarinen returned to Europe where, against an impressive field of competitors, he claimed a victory at the prestigious Imola 200 round of the inaugural Formula 750 European championship in 1973, once again defeating competitors on larger motorcycles with the TZ 350.