Having achieved the amazing results of winning their fourth straight championship in the Under 10-litre class of the Trucks category and 22nd straight finish since their first entry in 1991 in the Dakar Rally 2013, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA held a debriefing session on February 25 at the main hall in annex no. 1 at Hino Motors headquarters.Present at this session were team director of HINO TEAM SUGAWARA and driver of Car 1, Yoshimasa Sugawara; his navigator, Katsumi Hamura; driver of Car 2, Teruhito Sugawara; his navigator, Hiroyuki Sugiura; mechanics Seiichi Suzuki, Mitsuhiro Urabe (Kagawa Hino Motors), Takahiro Kikuchi (Hokkaido Hino Motors), Takeshi Koiso (Yokohama Hino Motors), and Yoshiaki Sakai (Tokushima Hino Motors); and Kazuo Okamoto, chairman of Hino Motors who made his first visit to South America this year to give his support to the team.

At the debriefing session, chairman Okamoto began by praising the team's honorable performance and extended his gratitude for the ongoing support the team has received from the many sponsor companies and other organizations. He then recounted his experience of the Dakar Rally-this having been the first time he was there on site to view the race first-hand-and expressed his passionate expectations for the future. This was followed by a description and report by Teruhito Sugawara of the characteristics of the 2013 course and how the team fought the race. Mitsuhiro Urabe from Kagawa Hino Motors-who joined HINO TEAM SUGAWARA this year for the second time-was up next and gave his comments of the race on behalf of the mechanics.

I think it is a wonderful thing that Hino has been able to continue its involvement in the Dakar Rally for 22 years. We owe this to the support of HINO TEAM SUGAWARA and our sponsor companies, to whom I extend my heartfelt gratitude. The capabilities of the mechanics who were chosen from different Hino dealers and the enthusiasm at Hino were also important factors. This was the first time for me to be onsite at the Dakar Rally to cheer for the team, and I realized that it was quite different from what I had been familiar with in motor sports through my many years of involvement. In contrast to races that are held in closed venues to paying audiences, the Dakar Rally is held in the open. The recognition ceremony, for example, was held right in front of the presidential palace, and this was something that I had never experienced before. Many public spectators were present, which made for a very friendly and exciting atmosphere.

During the ceremony, I was given the special opportunity to sit in the navigator's seat, as well as stand on the podium. The fact that this was an "Iron Man Race" in the real sense of the word was driven home for me, in that only those who finished the race through grueling desert conditions were able to revel in their victory. I had been told that Hino was highly respected in this race. But we wanted to win because this is a competitive event. In response to the huge amounts of effort that Mr. Sugawara and others are making, I have come home with a renewed desire to work together to make our vehicles even better so that we can squarely compete with our rivals in the overall Trucks category, and not just rest on our achievements in the special Under 10-litre class.

Dakar Rally 2013 took us over a total course of about 8,000km over a period of 16 days, starting in Lima, Peru; through the Atacama Desert (included in the course for the first time last year); across the Andes Mountains through areas scaling the 6,000m range into Argentina; back across the Andes Mountains into Chile; and finally to the finish line in Santiago. The competitive stages made up only about 3,000km, shorter than usual years, so this year's course symbolized how the Dakar Rally has been shifting in recent years from being an adventure-oriented rally to the world's most grueling sprint race. The overall rankings of the two trucks entered by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA were lower than usual at 19th and 31st. This event being the 5th Dakar Rally to be held in South America since it was relocated 2009, these results were likely due to the fact that new entrants-the manufacturers, drivers, and mechanics-have matured as teams working together, and their overall performances are approaching very high levels. This is also evident in the fact that the finish rate in the Trucks category has improved to about 80%.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA has also been moving forward with the development of a new racing truck under a three-year plan that was launched in 2012. This year being the second year of the plan, we entered the race with a fully updated Car 1 which was powered by an electronically controlled engine for the first time in Hino's Dakar history. Results showed that the engine did not encounter any fuel-, dust- or vibration-related performance issues, dispelling any concerns that we may have previously had. Meanwhile, the truck suffered problems with rising water temperature. Various procedures were undertaken to remedy the situation, but ultimately it was a very simple problem that was easily corrected once we replaced the radiator. Aside from that, I believe we have been able to gather a wealth of very useful data that we will be referencing for the 2014 race. As a team, we are working towards developing a racing truck with a good chance of finishing high in the overall rankings. This vision has been nearing realization over the past two to three years, and we would like to thank in advance everyone involved for their continued support.

This was my second stint in the Dakar Rally, following my first in 2009. The 2009 race was the first to be held in South America, and we encountered various problems with the vehicle, so amid all the commotion it felt like it was over even before we knew it. I was hoping to take part in this challenge again, so I was very happy when the company called on me and my family gave me their full support. As a result, I was able to join this year as mechanic leader. I got the impression that the race itself had evolved dramatically since 2009, with considerably lower withdrawal rates in the Trucks category, which indicated to me that all of the teams were getting accustomed to racing in South America. Support teams brought in their own camping trailers, and toilet and eating facilities set up by the organizers were also improved. All of these changes allowed us to concentrate more on the race and servicing the vehicles. Meanwhile, the excitement and support among the local population was as great and exuberant as I remembered it to be.

During the race, we faced an endless chain of situations-such as the overheating situation with Car 1 and the flat tire sustained by Car 2-that constantly forced us to make decisions against the clock. We were also under quite a bit of pressure as we had to get whatever precious sleep we could while we were on the go in the support cars. These were the times when encouragement from friends and family, as well as messages of support posted on the website kept us going. Thanks to that support, both of the team's trucks were able to make it to the finish line. Back at my company after the race, I was surprised to see a banner emblazoned with my name and photo. Customers who saw this banner would come up to me and ask me about the Dakar Rally and some have actually asked me to call and service their vehicles. My intention is to make the best of this experience in my relationships with our customers as well as for the company so that I may return the gift of support and encouragement that I have received.

Just as in previous years, we have received a huge amount of support from people associated with local Hino associates at the countries where the race was held, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for their generosity. In Peru, Grupo Pana, a dealership of Toyota Peru, which is also in charge of sales of Hino vehicles in the country, erected a servicing booth for us in a section of their premises. They took extra efforts to decorate the interior of the booth, and also showed their support by displaying banners in the showroom facing the street. On December 27th, the company removed all display vehicles from their showroom so that we could hold a press conference there. The organizer's transport ship, which was carrying the racing vehicles, had not yet arrived in Peru, and the only racing trucks that had arrived on the country's shores were the two HINO 500 Series trucks that were directly shipped from Japan, so this conference attracted a large number of local media.

During the starting ceremony on January 5th, we were greatly honored to be the only two drivers that were invited to the tape cutting ceremony hosted by President Humala and the First Lady of Peru. This scene was aired live on nationwide TV. Along the Pan American Highway, which connects North and South America, huge signs that read "HINO 500 Series trucks are taking on the Dakar Rally challenge" were erected. I later heard that there were three of these signs, and it took me by surprise when I saw one of them en route, as it almost seemed like my truck was coming towards me. These are some of the things that show you how popular the Dakar Rally is in these countries, and I was very happy to know that opportunities were embraced to communicate the excellence of Hino vehicles. As the signs were erected along liaison routes that connected the special stages, I'm sure all contestants saw them as they drove by.

However, I do have to make an apology to our sponsor companies. During the race, Car 1 made contact with another competitor and part of our canvas top was damaged. This forced us to replace the canvas with ground sheets that we used for servicing, meaning that one side of our truck no longer displayed our sponsors' logos. This was absolutely unavoidable in order for us to finish the race.

In terms of the racing truck, as explained earlier, Car 1 was the first truck in Hino's rally history to be powered by an electronically-controlled engine. This delivered higher torque over a broader range of engine speeds, and our suspension employed new axles that were equipped with a hub reduction mechanism to increase the ground clearance and terrain crossing performance. The axles were also fitted with disk brakes for improved braking performance and operability. As the truck was equipped with a power train different from the previous trucks, we risked encountering major problems during the race, but we decided to take on the challenge to aim for new heights. As a result, the electronically-controlled engine delivered torque that I could feel even at mid-range speeds, and this made the truck much easier to drive.