Dakar Rally 2013 Kicks Off in Lima.

Car 2 Takes Top Position in the Under 10-litre Class in the First SS.

The starting ceremony for the Dakar Rally 2013 was held on January 5 in Lima, the capital city of Peru, kicking off 15 days of intense competition. The Dakar Rally, which was relocated from Africa in 2009, had been starting off from Argentina for the previous races, and this was the first time the rally started off in Peru on the Pacific coast. This year's rally course winds through Chile and Argentina, and finishes in Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The total length of the rally for the Trucks category is 8,116km, of which competition stages (SS) make up 3,757km. While this is somewhat short in terms of travel distance, teams expect this to be a very challenging race because it almost seems as if the course was designed by simply connecting sandy hilly areas such as the deserts in southwestern Peru, the Atacama Desert in Chile, and Fiambala in Argentina.

There were 75 entries in the Trucks category this year. With 183 entries in the Bikes category, 38 in the Quads category, and 153 in the Cars category, a total of 449 vehicles started the race today. According to the organizers, 121 of these were first entries suggesting the popularity of the Dakar Rally in South America.

The starting venue was located by a beach in the Chorrillos region in the southeastern part of Lima, where a road was closed off to set up a podium. As it was a weekend, a large number of spectators gathered for the start and were also treated to dances and demo flights of competition airplanes, creating an exciting atmosphere that would have befitted any new year's festival.

The two HINO 500 Series trucks fielded by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA arrived at the venue after 12 noon. As trucks are too heavy, they do not go onto the podium and are directed to the side. The crowd exploded in cheering and applause when it was introduced that Yoshimasa Sugawara had been entered in the Guinness Book for his 30 consecutive entries in the race, and that they were entering the race as a father and son team. The two trucks answered with their horns and the crew waved to the crowd as they took off.

The route for this day took the contestants from Lima to Pisco. They headed south along the coast for 250km to compete on a short 13km SS near the bivouac in Pisco. The road surface of this stage was sandy and featured some dunes, making this an ideal stage for the contestants to test the waters.

In this SS, Car 2 came in 23rd overall in the Trucks category, and top in the Under 10-litre class. Car 1 came in at 38th and 4th in these respective categories. Needless to say, the time difference in this SS was very small, hardly carrying any weight in the larger picture. Hino mechanics arrived at the bivouac near the Pisco beach before the racing trucks and carried out inspections till late into the night to prepare for the race on the following day which would take the trucks on a loop course starting off in Pisco.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: The race has started. We got stuck on our belly on one of the dunes in the SS because I released on the gas pedal a moment too soon. While I was able to back up and cross the dune with no problem, it was rather embarrassing. The SS was just right for testing the waters.

Katsumi Hamura: This was the first time in quite a while that I navigated for another driver so I think it was a good test run for me. I did get a little nervous, but I will give it my best tomorrow and the days that follow.

Teruhito Sugawara: We're doing very well. There were a lot of sandy areas that were softer and more of a drain on traction than they appeared. While this SS was more advantageous for larger trucks that had larger engine displacements, I think we were able to keep up with them quite well.

Hiroyuki Sugiura: Today felt really good as a prologue. I think the driver was doing exceptionally well. At the end it took us 2 and a half hours from the bivouac to refuel. It's starting to sink in that the Dakar Rally has started.

*The rankings at the time when the report was written might be adjusted afterwards.

Refer to the latest ranking list of the official site.

Stage ranking
https://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/stage-1/rankings/stage-trucks.html#ancre

Overall ranking
https://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/stage-1/rankings/overall-trucks.html#ancre

ROUTE MAP

PHOTOS

*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.