Jan 4, 2012, San Juan-Chilecito
Connection: 424 Special Stage: 326 Total: 750 (km)

Car 2 Maintains its Top Position in the Under 10-litre Class.
Tomorrow, Contestants Face the Fiambala Desert, the Highlight of the Argentine Stage.

The route for Day 4 took the contestants from San Juan to Chilecito. After traveling 424 km northward on a liaison segment from San Juan, they raced through a 326 km SS in the mountain areas near Chilecito. The route for the day consisted primarily of hard terrain and passed through elevations of 3400 m in some areas. This stage was truly characteristic of northern Argentina as the trucks crossed many dried up river beds and a roadless dirt desert. The Teruhito Sugawara and Seiichi Suzuki crew, who finished the SS of Day 3 at 1st place in the Under 10-litre class to achieve an overall top position in the class, continued to deliver a solid performance this day again on Car 2 of the HINO 500 Series trucks that are being fielded by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA. The crew achieved 19th place overall and 1st in the Under 10-litre class for the SS, and 18th and 1st in these respective categories overall. Yoshimasa Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura achieved 45th place overall and 4th in the Under 10-litre class for the SS, and 29th and 4th in these respective categories overall.

The bivouac was set up adjacent to the airport in Chilecito, in an area where the ground surface is dry and dusty. The four mechanics traveling on the Hino 700 Series assistance truck and assistance car arrived at the site after 12 noon. They have made all servicing preparations and have been waiting for the HINO 500 Series trucks to arrive.

Tomorrow, the contestants will be entering the Fiambala Desert, the highlight of the Argentine stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally. The trucks will have more difficulty building up speed during this stage as they face great resistance from the fluffy powder sand (fesh-fesh) on dry river beds as well as dunes with steep grades. These elements, in addition to the heat, conspire to cause overheating. While the HINO 500 Series trucks have been fitted with special measures to improve cooling performance, the mechanics will make sure that nothing is overlooked during inspections. As for the next leg to Fiambala, the organizers have announced that the start point for the Cars and Trucks categories will be moved by 24 km, and their start times will be delayed by 30 minutes due to heavy rainfall in progress in the area near the starting point of the SS.

Naoya Nakano: Now that the rally has begun, I am relieved that we have been able to confirm the improved potential of our new racing truck, Car 2. In terms of servicing, we came across a variety of non-routine issues such as those caused by hits to the undersides of the trucks, and the four of us work together as a team to take care of these issues. I feel that our work as a team is beginning to flow much better now that we are 3 days into the race.

Seiji Maeda: The servicing environments at the race sites are more intense than what I had imagined. Not only can the ground be soft, but we also have to fight rain and wind at times. We are working till morning every day, but I see that our rival truck teams are also doing the same. This is a fight we cannot lose.

Yuya Inaba: As one of the mechanics of Car 2, my only hope is that it will continue to move up in position without much event. I'm committed to do the best that I can and make sure that I don't make a mistake that might cost us our standing.

Masahiro Nakata: The truck that I work on, Car 1 is also doing very well. While things got quite hectic when we had to perform a windshield replacement and repair an air conditioner gas leak on the same day, damages sustained by the truck on a day to day basis are minor, which tells me that the driver is doing a great job. This has been a great learning experience for me because I have never done windshield replacements or air conditioner repairs.

(The rankings in parentheses are in the class with an engine displacement of below 10 liters.)
*The rankings at the time when the report was written might be adjusted afterwards.

Refer to the Daily Movies
https://www.hino-global.com/dakar/gallery/video_index.html

*The HINO vehicle referred in this news in relation to the rally is specially designed, tuned and modified for the Dakar Rally, and most of its specifications are different from those of the HINO vehicles sold in the market unless otherwise specifically mentioned.