Car 1 Falls Back due to High Water Temperature on the First Day of Racing in the Second Half.

Car 2 Completes the SS in Stride.
Thorough Inspections are Carried Out at the Bivouac in Cordoba.

The second half of Dakar Rally 2013 began on January 14 and the contestants raced on an SS between San Miguel de Tucuman and Cordoba in Argentina. The SS for trucks this day was set on a considerably different course from that for motorbikes and cars. The trucks first traveled on a 324km southbound liaison from Tucuman, then competed in a 293km SS, and finally took another liaison for 83km to reach Cordoba. The SS for trucks was shorter than the 593km that was set for motorbikes and cars (although a 127km neutral zone [no competition zone] was defined midway through this SS).

This SS featured moderately undulating ups and downs on a hard gravel surface, making it relatively hard on the brakes. While the area near Cordoba received some rainfall in the morning, this did not affect the course.

Of the two HINO 500 Series trucks fielded by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA, Car 2 piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura flew through this segment in great condition. The truck came in at 17th overall and top in the Under 10-litre class for this SS, bringing the crew's accumulated ranking overall to 19th and top in the Under 10-litre class with a 3 hour 42 minute and 47 second lead over the runner up, the Johan Elfrink and Michel de Groot crew (Mercedes Benz Axor). This day, the Gerard DeRooy, Tom Colsouland DarekRodewaldcrew (Iveco)-champions from last year who have so far been racing at the top position overall in the Trucks category-were forced to stop due to turbo problems, causing them to fall back considerably, suggesting that we may be in for more drama even among the top contenders in the category.

Meanwhile, Car 1 piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Katsumi Hamura, again suffered rising water temperatures soon after start, and were forced to reduce their pace. Signs of overheating did not abate even after replenishing water along the way, and the truck finished this SS at an unwilling position of 60th overall and 12th in the Under 10-litre class. This brought the accumulated rankings for Car 1 to 30th overall and 5th in the class. Hino mechanics are now frantically inspecting the truck to determine the cause of this problem at the bivouac situated by Lake San Roque along Villa Carlos Paz on the outskirts of Cordoba.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: We switched to 2-wheel drive and turned off the air conditioner, but still had to drive in 2nd gear at about 30km/h. Conditions were very dusty, so we lost visibility every time we were overtaken.

Katsumi Hamura: The water temperature went over 100ºC about 50km into the race. We asked for water from the locals along the way but that didn't help. There were no problems in terms of navigation as we were driving quite slow.

Teruhito Sugawara: We had a great run with really no problems at all. We will be running on gravel again tomorrow, but I think it will be more rough and loose as we will be in the mountains. We need to watch out for flats

Hiroyuki Sugiura: In terms of navigation, we basically drove on the piste, but the paths were hard to find as the map as too detailed. I'm feeling a bit drowsy now as the Trucks category started at 4:30 this morning.

*Rankings at the time of this writing may be adjusted afterwards.

For the latest rankings, please visit the official site.

Stage ranking
https://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/stage-9/rankings/stage-trucks.html#ancre

Overall ranking
https://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/stage-9/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.