Full-Blown Competition Begins in the Long SS
Car 2 suffers a radiator problem but arrives at the bivouac after making a recovery.

On January 4, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's HINO500 Series truck Car 2, piloted by the Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura crew, came in at 23rd place in overall rankings in the first SS of the race (1st place in the Under 10-litre Class), arriving at the bivouac in Villa Carlos Paz at around 9:30pm. Car 1, piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara, Yoko Wakabayashi, and Katsumi Hamura, came in at 30th overall and 2nd in the Class, arriving at the bivouac before 10pm. In the early stages of the race, which usually feature proportionately more segments where overtaking can be difficult, the Trucks category typically ends up starting late in the day as they have to wait for all vehicles in the Cars category to leave the starting gate before they can start. This means that, in many cases, it can be almost midnight by the time the trucks arrive at their bivouacs. We need to hold out until the leg to Iquique, Chile on January 9 when the Cars and Trucks categories begin making mixed starts.

January 5 took contestants from Villa Carlos Paz to San Juan, both in Argentina, during which they competed in a 331km long SS. The first part of the race included a mountain-crossing segment at elevations in the 2000m range which was followed by relatively flat terrain. In the latter half, contestants faced a fesh-fesh segment. While the SS on January 4 was a relatively straightforward course set on agricultural roads, this day's course gave racers a taste of challenges that are characteristic of the South American Dakar Rally, and heralded the beginning of full-blown competition.

Again, both crews on the team's HINO500 Series trucks calmly tackled the day's SS. Car 2 was forced to slow down midway through the race, however, when its radiator was hit and damaged by a flying stone. The truck was able to continue its race with coolant replenishments - including backup water that was carried on Car 1 which caught up from behind - and finish the SS at 43rd place in the Trucks category overall and 3rd in the Under 10-litre Class. Car 1, which had been supporting Car 2, finished the stage at 42nd overall and 2nd in the Class. These results brought the accumulated rankings for Car 1 to 37th overall and 2nd in its Class, and Car 2 to 38th overall and 3rd in its Class. The P. Marco crew (Mercedes Benz Unimog) who are currently top in the Class came in at 31st overall, 30 minutes and 46 seconds quicker than Car 1. This is a time difference that still can be made up.

Upon completing the SS and receiving emergency repairs to its damaged radiator, Car 2 traveled with Car 1 on a 289km liaison route to the bivouac in San Juan. As soon as the trucks arrived after 10pm, the mechanics wasted no time to repair and inspect the trucks.On January 6, contestants will race in the final stage set in Argentina which extends from San Juan to Chilecito.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: With upgraded suspensions and power train, this year's trucks are very fast. But we did slow down when we came across some deep ravines in the SS as it was quite risky.

Yoko Wakabayashi: The tracks were rougher today than on the first day. The middle seat in our 3-seater cabin is rather tight but that's not a problem because the truck drives quite comfortably. One of the exciting things about this rally is that we get to see a variety of different landscapes.

Katsumi Hamura: Navigating in this 3-person crew is going well as planned, but the toughest stages of this rally are still ahead of us.

Teruhito Sugawara: Our truck is doing just fine. Trucks that used to overtake us in previous races are having a harder time doing so this year, and even if they do, we can still keep them within our sight. We had an unfortunate problem today but it's not a setback that we can't make up.

Hiroyuki Sugiura: The coolant alarm went off about 100km into the SS and when we stopped the truck to check it out, we saw that it was leaking. I'm pretty sure we hadn't let the engine overheat. We were lucky to have Car 1 help us out.

Shunsuke Sugawara: There wasn't particularly that much to do last night but it took us till morning. I personally feel that I've made a good start.

Hiroya Fukuno: Time really flies when you're working on the trucks. It was already 7am by the time we finished working. The air conditioner on our transport vehicle broke down and the heat has gotten to me a bit, but I'm doing fine.

Hironaga Hayashi: It's true that the we can't work as smoothly as we can in our shops, but it's amazing how time files. I was surprised at the scale of the bivouac, which was bigger than anything that I had imagined.

* 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.

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Route Map