Trucks Complete Last of the Challenging Stages
Both arrive at the final bivouac in La Serena

January 17 represented the very last of the crucial stages that contestants have been competing on in the Atacama Desert in Chile for the last 4 days. Contestants raced on a 350km SS that traveled through desert terrain in the area near Copiapo en route to La Serena from El Salvador. The first half included mountain roads that climbed up and down through 2000m+ highlands, and the latter half took the contestants on a 150km stretch of sandy terrain which featured a number of areas with dunes of soft sand.

Of the two trucks that HINO TEAM SUGAWARA entered in the Trucks category in this year's Dakar Rally, Car 2 (piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura) represents the final version of the team's new racing truck which it had been developing in a 3-year project since 2011. Although Car 2 is a medium-duty truck powered by an 8-litre engine, it moved up to the 12th spot in overall rankings at the end of the SS on January 16, beating out many of its oversized rivals, and continued to maintain its top position in the Under 10-litre Class. Furthermore, Car 1 (piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Katsumi Hamura), the first iteration of trucks powered by the new A09C 8.8-litre engine, ranks at 28th place overall and 2nd in the Under 10-litre Class. This year, the Johan Elfrink crew (Mercedes Benz Axor), a long-time rival of Hino, dropped out of the race early, and the two Hino trucks have commanded a runaway lead in the class ever since, maintaining their lead in all stages with 1-2 finishes.

January 17, both crews of HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's HINO500 Series trucks raced aggressively in what was essentially the last of the challenging stages of this year's race. Car 2 piloted by the Teruhito Sugawara/Hiroyuki Sugiura crew took on the dunes section fearlessly finishing at 16th place in the overall trucks category and top in the Under 10-litre Class. Car 1 also came in at a solid 33rd place overall and 2nd in its class. With these results, Car 2 is ranked at 12th place in accumulated overall rankings, and Car 1 at 32nd. Needless to say, the trucks continue to maintain their 1-2 lead in the Under 10-litre Class, with Car 1 commanding a huge 30 hour 44 second time difference over the M. Piana crew who are currently 3rd in the class.

Following the SS, the two HINO500 Series trucks traveled on a 349km liaison route to the bivouac in La Serena where they are being given the final checkup by the team's mechanics to prepare for the final stage to be held tomorrow on January 18. Neither of the trucks has had any major problems, with the worst being an easily-repaired leak in Car 2's exhaust system. Tomorrow on January 18, contestants will be competing on a 150km SS before finally reaching the finish line at Valparaiso the same night. While the stage is not expected to pose any major challenges, this is no time for any of the team members to let their guards down. The entire Hino team is committed to renew their focus as they take on the final stage of this rally.

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