7 replies to this topic

[mr. handsome]

I guess this is for the Finns mainly. I began to think about this Taru-girl (who beat Mika Häkkinen several times and was a national champion a couple of times in their early career) when reading this "Niki Lauda bringing a chick to F1"-business, and did a search on her. Found next to nothing very recent about her.

Isn't she racing anymore, or has she changed names, or why does it seem that she's just about disappeared. Wasn't it her that has sometimes been remotely speculated to enter F1 one day? Or am I confusing her to someone else? After all, this girl was driving motorcycles the last time I heard about her, so difficult to imagine her in a F1 car.

[Rob29]

Never heard of Taru,but there was a Finnish lady racing in Finnish F3 last year-Sana Pinola.
yesterday a 15 yr old Czech girl started the 125 Moto GP-several latino males mysteriously pulled off and retired when she overtook them!

[mr. handsome]

Originally posted by Rob29
Never heard of Taru,but there was a Finnish lady racing in Finnish F3 last year-Sana Pinola.
yesterday a 15 yr old Czech girl started the 125 Moto GP-several latino males mysteriously pulled off and retired when she overtook them!

It was her, Sanna (two n's), that the commentators here have been speculating about whether she could enter f1 one day, not this Taru-girl. Indeed, thanks for help.

[kismet]

For the Finnish-speaking members, from www.turunsanomat.fi/osasto/?ts=1,12,0,0,65113,2001-03-18

Mitä kuuluu Taru Rinne?

Avoliiton kariutuminen on tuonut Taru Rinteen, 32, takaisin kotikadun varrelle Turun Muhkuriin. Kaksivuotiaan Tarja -tytön äiti tervehtii kainosti ja pyytää anteeksi oikeassa kädessä olevaa kipsiään. Uransa aikana lukuisia kertoja luitaan katkonut Taru on tällä kertaa joutunut kevätliukkaiden uhriksi.

Työlaisperheessä varttunut Taru vietti lähes koko nuoruutensa moottoreiden maailmassa.Jo pikkutyttönä hän hämmästytti ajotaidoillaan karting-radoilla. Formulamaailman suurista tähdistä mm. Mikat Häkkinen ja Salo joutuivat useamman kerran katselemaan, kuinka Taru nousi korkeimmalle korokkeelle.

Neljä pyörää vaihtui kuitenkin iän karttuessa kahteen pyörään. Moottoripyörällä Taru vavisutti maanjäristyksen lailla miehistä rr-maailmaa.

Turkulaistyttönen nousi suuriin otsikoihin ympäri Eurooppaa 1980- ja 90-luvun vaihteessa ajamalla ensimmäisenä naispuolisena kilpailijana ratamoottoripyörien MM-sarjassa pisteille.

- Halusin olla ykkönen, en kakkonen. Ikävä kyllä olin valmis ottamaan kovia riskejä, muuten en olisi pärjännyt. Oli kaikin puolin raskas taakka ajaa maailman huippujen joukossa ja vielä naisena, tunnustaa Taru.

Juuri kun hänen uransa oli puhkeamassa parhaimpaansa loistoonsa tapahtui raju kaatuminen. Molempien nilkkojen murtuminen ei päättänyt hänen ajajauraansa, mutta toipilasaikana postin tuoma Bernie Ecclestonen allekirjoittama kirje pysäytti turkulaistytön nousun lopullisesti palvottujen idolien joukkoon.

- Kaaduin Ranskan Paul Ricardin radalla sillä seurauksella, että molemmat nilkkani murtuivat. Olisin pystynyt jatkamaan kilpailemista, mutta tuo kirje päätti ajoni MM-tasolla.

- Ecclestone päätti tuohon aikaa, kuka saa kilpailla MM-tasolla ja kuka ei. Hänen allekirjoittamassaan kirjeessä ilmoitettiin, ettei minua kelpuuteta seuraavalla kaudella (1992) MM-sarjan starttilistoille. Harmittaa, että mies joka ei edes tuntenut minua, päätti kilpailemiseni. Tuskin hän edes tiesi, että olen nainen. En olisi halunnut muistella noita aikoja. Se kirje oli elämäni suurin pettymys, selvittelee Taru uransa päättymiseen johtaneita syitä.

Kilpailuvietti ei kuitenkaan sammunut. Taru jäähdytteli kaksi kautta kilpailemalla Saksan radoilla.

- Omat viimeiset rahani menivät noina kahtena vuotena. Kilpaileminen on kuin huumetta, jota tosin en ole koskaan kokeillut. Nokian liukuhihnatyöläisen palkoilla ei pysty kilpailemaan. Rahaa ei minulle jäänyt, mutta ihania muistoja kylläkin, selvittää Taru.

Jos tiivistempoinen nelivuorotyö suinkin mahdollistaa, Taru seuraa tarkoin F1-kilpailuja pelonsekaisin tuntein.

- Pelkään kuskien puolesta. Autot ovat kuin paperia nykynopeuksilla tapahtuvissa kolareissa. Sydämeni sykkii edelleen Häkkiselle ja olen onnellinen Mikan puolesta. Hänellä on perhe ja oma Hugo -poika odottamassa isää kilpailumatkoilta kotiin.

JUSSI FRIMAN

Päivitetty 18.3.2001 0:48:28

Here's my somewhat sloppy translation of the key parts (Taru's comments) for those who don't master Finnish.

About her RR career:
- I wanted to be the best, not the second best. Unfortunately I was prepared to take huge risks, otherwise I wouldn't have succeeded. It was tough in every way to drive among the best of the world - and be a woman.

About why her career ended prematurely:
- I crashed my bike at Paul Ricard and broke both my ankles. I could have continued my career but a letter from Bernie Ecclestone put an end to my racing at that level.

- At the time, Ecclestone was in charge of determining who was allowed to compete on WC level and who was not. A letter signed by him informed me that I didn't qualify for the starting grid the next season (1992). It's annoying that a man that doesn't even know me can put an end to my WC career. I doubt he even knew I was a woman. But I wouldn't want to keep looking back on that time. That letter was the biggest disappointment of my life.

About continuing her career for two more years in Germany:
- I spent the last of my money on those two years. Racing was like a drug, not that I've ever tried drugs. But what you earn working at an assembly line at Nokia just isn't enough to enable racing. So, I wasn't left with any money but a lot of lovely memories.



I think Taru's career is a classic case of "what could have been" mixed with some controversy and Cinderella stuff. But maybe the fact that she never got her chance is also a mixed blessing in that she'll go down in history as the girl who beat Mika Häkkinen rather than that overrated chick that could never really make it with the big boys. Although I would've loved to see her give it a serious go, and maybe she would've made it after all.

[Menace]

Kismet, thanks for the story and good translation!

[mr. handsome]

I don't know what happened, but I swear I just saw someone asking at what did Taru Rinne beat Mika Häkkinen, but for some reason I can't see that question anywhere anymore.

Anyhow, here's the answer: Apparently Mika Häkkinen had great difficulties in beating this girl in the years 1979-1983 or something at F K 85 cc Formula Mini -class, and Taru Rinne won MH more often than not. After 1983 their ways separeted, since MH advanced to Nordic classes while this obvioulsy wasn't possible for a girl for a lack of support, I'd say.

There's something about it here:
http://www.clarinet....e/hakkinen.html

[AndersF1]

I think she lost her license, if I remember correctly. So she wasn't allowed to race for a whole year, or something like that, and that's the reason why she changed to bikes.
She was also beating Mika Salo, so it wasn't only Häkkinen she had to race against in her karting days.

[kismet]

She "won" the championship, was then disqualified due to fuel irregularities of some sort and handed a race ban which presumably triggered a decision to switch to bikes.