Jan 11, 2012, Iquique-Arica
Connection: 317 Special Stage: 377 Total: 694 (km)

Car 2 Finishes the SS in a Single-Digit Position at 9th.
Car 1 Also Completes the Final Stage in Chile in Good Form

On January 10, Car 1 of HINO TEAM SUGAWARA piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura experienced some delays in the stage that stretched from Antofagasta to Iquique and arrived at the bivouac in Iquique after 11 pm, coming in at a ranking of 52 overall and 10th in the Under 10-litre class for this SS. The truck had a puncture in one tire during the SS. And because sunset came right after they passed CP5, the last checkpoint, the crew decided to slow down to ensure safety. They also made a minor course error along the way and this contributed to their delay. Other than that, the two were in good form, and the water leakage caused by the radiator fan hitting the radiator and the damage to the fan was repaired, so the truck was good to go for the stage set for January 11.

On January 11, the contestants raced the final stage in Chile, a segment stretching from Iquique to Arica where a 377 km SS was defined near Iquique. In many parts, the road surface consisted of hard gravel and fluffy powder sand (fesh-fesh), and there was also a 20 km dune segment, making this a challenging stage.

Car 2, one of the HINO 500 Series trucks fielded by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA, was the 18th vehicle to start the stage and did extremely well throughout. The crew expertly maneuvered the dunes and passed the checkpoint that immediately followed at 8th position. While the truck was overtaken by another later in the race, it finished 9th overall and 1st place in the Under 10-litre for this SS. The fact that a truck in the Under 10-litre class finished at a single-digit position, beating out many of its larger rivals, can be considered to be a major accomplishment. Johan Elfrink's truck (Mercedes-Benz Axor), which currently holds the 2nd position in the Under 10-litre class, finished this SS at 2nd place 40 minutes and 58 seconds behind Car 2. With this, the truck's overall difference with Car 2 in the Under 10-litre class has grown to 3 hours 52 minutes 23 seconds. Car 2 currently ranks 12th overall, and continues to make solid progress towards its initial goal.

Meanwhile, Car 1 also raced a solid race, and moved up from its 42nd starting position to 35th after the dune segment where it showed its mettle. The truck completed the SS at 33rd place, and is believed to be heading for the bivouac in Arica as of 11 pm local time (Its class and overall rankings are not known at this point).

Tomorrow, January 12, the contestants will be entering Peru, the final country in this rally, where there will be a 432 km SS on Peruvian soil between Arica and Arequipa. The motorbike category was scheduled to take a different route with a different length this day, but the schedule route became unavailable due to the rain that fell last week. The motorbikes will therefore be taking the same route as the cars.

Teruhito Sugawara: Today, we were able to improve our position in the dune segment as we had planned. This dune area was one that we have always raced on in this rally, and there were no difficult requirements. But the bumpy road that followed was very dusty which made it quite risky.

Seiichi Suzuki: The GPS waypoint requirements for the dunes today were not that difficult. Dunes that are cupped like eating bowls are tough on trucks and it was a challenge to specify the lines as a slight error could get us tipped over. We had no major problems with the truck today other than a slow-leaking puncture on the right front wheel, and some cracks again in the rear body door mouth area.

(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.