Jan 7, 2012, Copiapó-Copiapó
Connection: 154 Special Stage: 419 Total: 573 (km)

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA Finishes the First Half of the Race at 1st and 3rd in the Under 10-litre Class
Contestants to Take a Day Off at Copiapo, Chile Tomorrow.

On January 7th, the final day of the first half of the race, contestants of the 2012 Dakar Rally competed on a clockwise, 419 km loop course that started and finished at Copiapo. The starting point of the SS was 154 km south of the bivouac, and was reached via a liaison segment. The SS consisted of a first part that took the contestants northward for 143 km near the coast and ended at a paved neutral zone. The second part started at a point 57 km into the paved road, formed an arc north-easterly of the bivouac, and finished near the bivouac. The second part included large dunes that were difficult to cross, making this part a major highlight. The two HINO 500 Series trucks fielded by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA did very well here, leveraging their lightweight and compact bodies. Car 2, the new racing truck piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Seiichi Suzuki, overcame the challenging dunes towards the end of the SS, finishing 12th overall and 1st in the Under 10-litre class for this SS. As Johan Elfrink's crew (Mercedes Benz Axor) came in 38 minutes and 12 seconds later at 2nd place, Car 2's overall ranking as of the end of the first half came to 13th overall and 1st in the class, with an impressive 2 hour 47 minute 30 second lead over the Elfrink crew. Additionally, Car 1 - driven by Yoshimasa Sugawara, who achieved an unprecedented 30 entries in this race, and navigated by Hiroyuki Sugiura - continued on this difficult SS until just before sunset coming in at 3rd in the class for the SS. As a result, Car 1 finished the first half at 3rd in the class.

Tomorrow, January 8, the contestants will take a day off at Copiapo. This will be a day of recuperation for the teams' vehicles and their staff, and therefore strategically the most important day of the race. The four Hino mechanics began their work as soon as the trucks arrived at the bivouac on the night of the 7th.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: Car 1 is 200 kg lighter than last year, and thanks to that, I can even use one higher gear when climbing up the dunes. The suspension seemed a bit hard at the beginning of the race but we lowered the tire pressure and it feels good now. Today was another tough day but I was relieved to reach the goal before sunset.

Hiroyuki Sugiura: This was the first time in the last few days that we came across full-blown dunes. The driver and I worked well together, and the race felt good overall. Navigating through this SS today was quite challenging.

Teruhito Sugawara: I had a pretty good idea of almost all of the areas in this stage, so I was able to race well, at times by making detours around challenging areas. Having completed the first half, I feel that we've been able to maintain a perfect pace with no major problems or mistakes up to this point.

Seiichi Suzuki: At the end of the first half of the SS, exhaust began leaking from a pipe leading from the waste gate. We made emergency repairs and were able to complete the SS. This SS was the most challenging in the first half where, for example, GPS way points - which we are required to pass by - were located at the tops of dunes.

(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.