Woman Spotlight Wednesday: Taru Rinne
- Annalise Huang
- Oct 15
- 3 min read
Written by Annalise Huang, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Women have played an influential role throughout the history of motor racing. Many have taken to the wheels of motorsport machines, while numerous figures have worked tirelessly on the sidelines in various roles, shaping the motor racing world to the present day.
Woman Spotlight Wednesday aims to take a look at the tales of these superwomen, who have surpassed various hurdles to reach where they are today. In this article, we spotlight a youngster hailing from the world’s most populous nation, breaking barriers at a young age.
Taru Rinne is a Finnish former professional motorcycle racer and the first woman to compete and score points in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. This milestone for women would pave the way for future female racers to succeed in the sport.
Karting start
Rinne was born in 1968 in Turku, Finland. From an early age, she quickly showed an affinity and talent for racing.
She began karting at a young age, competing against future Formula One drivers such as Jyrki Järvilehto, Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo.
Rinne won her first Finnish Karting Championship in the 85cc class in 1979 aged just 11. For the next four years, she won either first or second in a consistent rivalry with Häkkinen and Salo especially.
In that fourth year, 1983, she finished first in the championship but was disqualified from the last race due to illegal fuel. This resulted in a personal one-year racing ban, which ended her promising karting career.
Motorcycle racing career
Despite her four-wheeler success, Rinne made the switch to motorcycles and debuted five years later in the 1988 Road Racing World Championship with her Honda bike. The racing league is now known as MotoGP.
She qualified second for the 125cc class GP at Hockenheim in 1989 and managed to maintain a lead for a large portion of the race. In the end, she finished seventh, which was better than her earlier eighth place at Assen.
After a bad accident at Paul Ricard where she fractured both ankles, this seventh place was the best result of her career. It also made her the first woman to not just race, but also score points in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
Life after racing
While Rinne recovered from the accident, she received word that she wasn’t qualified to compete next season. The letter came from Bernie Ecclestone, a British executive who decided which riders were allowed to compete in the series at the time.
Rinne later cited this letter as the biggest disappointment of her life, as it ended her career at the top level.
Since the end of her racing days, Rinne has stayed out of the public spotlight. However, her legacy can be seen through the successful female motorcycle racers of today.
Ana Carrasco, for example, became the first female to win a solo motorcycle road racing world championship in 2018. Maria Herrera is another female motorcycle racer from Spain, who uses her helmet design to spread awareness about breast cancer.
Despite the abrupt end to Rinne’s career, she remains a source of inspiration to aspiring female racers. Her success in not only four-wheel racing, but also motorcycle racing, shows her versatility and broader influence in the female motorsport community.
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