Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen (December 11, 1945 – May 20, 1973) was a Finnish motorcycle racer and the 1972 250cc Grand Prix Roadracing World Champion.
Grand Prix Racing Career
Saarinen made his Grand Prix racing debut in the 125cc class at the 1968 Finnish Grand Prix at Imatra, and contested his first world championship season in 1970 riding a privateer Yamaha TD-2 in the 250cc class. 1971 and 1972 were also spent on 250cc and 350cc Yamaha machinery, on which he won his 250cc world title and came second in the 350cc World Championship behind Giacomo Agostini.
500cc Career and Accident
1973 saw a step up to the newly formed Yamaha factory team in the 250cc and 500cc classes. The Finnish racher repaid Yamaha by winning his first two 500cc races, with a third win looked promising until his chain broke during the race. Saarinen was tragically killed at the fourth round of the season at Monza when he was caught up in the immediate aftermath of Renzo Pasolini’s fatal crash during the 250cc race, which had knocked his helmet off just before getting hit by another motorcycle.
Saarinen was posthumously inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame. The honor was presented to brothers Jari and Jarkko, and his widow Soili Karme.
S.U.F Helsinki and Stepan Sarpaneva
Saarinen has been cited as a childhood hero of Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva, founder of Finnish watch brands Sarpaneva Watches and S.U.F Helsinki. As a tribute to Finland’s first and so far only Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion, Sarpaneva created the S.U.F Paroni. Four different limited editions have been created, and all share a red and white dial design inspired by Saarinen’s iconic helmet:
2004: 1st generation
2014: 2nd generation, including a lefty version limited to 50 pieces
2019: chronograph, limited to 26 pieces and powered by a modified vintage Lemania 1872 movement
2022: Imatranajo, limited to 29 pieces and only available at the Imatranajo weekend. Subsequent unique non-production pieces were created as prizes.
Mika Kallio and the Paroni
Former MotoGP racer Mika Kallio was said to be wearing a first generation Paroni when he met Sarpaneva in 2009, and was subsequently gifted a one-off S.U.F Helsinki Flying Finn timepiece designed for him. Sarpaneva has also created the VB77 and FF-S with Finnish former Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas.
Related Pages
References
https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/149980/1/jarno-saarinen-becomes-motogp-legend
https://sufhelsinki.com/collections/paroni
https://monochrome-watches.com/s-u-f-paroni-flying-finn-limited-edition/
https://www.thewatchshowfinland.com/journal/paroni
https://sufhelsinki.com/en-us/blogs/logbook/mika-kallio-the-flying-finn
https://watchesbysjx.com/2022/08/suf-helsinki-flying-finn-vb77-ff-s-sarpaneva.html