Both Trucks Are in Great Form upon Completing the Argentinean Stages for the First Half of the Rally.
Rally to cross the Andes Mountains over into Chile.

January 6, the rally took contestants on an SS set between San Juan in Argentina and Chilecito, both in Argentina. This was the last stage in Argentina for the first half of the rally. The northward route along the east side of the Andes foothills has been a fixture in previous races, but this year, the Bikes category and the Cars and Trucks categories will be competing on completely different SSs. Whereas Bikes tackled dunes towards the end of the SS, the Cars and Trucks competed in a 284km stage set in a route that wound through intermountain areas and riverbed routes on the outskirts of San Juan, with a fesh-fesh segment appearing towards the end. Following the finish line of the SS, contestants traveled on a 232km liaison segment to their bivouac.

Today again, the two Hino500 Series trucks fielded by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA competed in good form. Despite of suffering a broken radiator from flying stone en route to San Juan the previous day, Car 2 piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, was fully up to speed this day with a newly replaced radiator. The truck and crew showed their mettle coming in at 25th in the overall Trucks category and 1st in the Under 10-litre Class. Car 1 piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara, Yoko Wakabayashi, and Katsumi Hamura completed the SS at 35th overall and 2nd in the Class. These results brought the accumulated rankings for Car 2 to 32nd overall and top in its Class, and Car 1 to 36th overall and 2nd in its Class.

The rally itinerary for January 7 will have the racers starting early in the morning for Chilecito, crossing the Andes on a 594km liaison route and then over the border from Argentina to Chile. This will be followed by a 174km SS en route to the bivouac in Copiapo in the Atacama Desert. This is expected to be a long day.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: I feel tired today as we had to drive on rough roads all day. That said, the ride wasn’t that bad thanks to our suspension upgrades. We are doing really well.

Yoko Wakabayashi: The middle seat is small and I’m not able to move around, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be even on rough roads. Still, the ride was rough enough to make me break my ballpoint pen.

Katsumi Hamura: There were long segments where we had to travel on the bottom of wadis (dry riverbeds) which made navigating somewhat of a challenge. That said, I’m glad that we made it without event.

Teruhito Sugawara: Compared to our previous trucks, our new trucks were about 30 minutes faster on this particular course. We can push even more but I’m not taking any chances as we do have to keep durability in mind. The course to Copiapo tomorrow may turn out to be quite difficult.

Hiroyuki Sugiura: We started towards the end of the pack because of our performance yesterday. So it was all about perseverance for us for the whole day. I’m glad it’s over.

Katsuyuki Nagoshi: The radiator problem on Car 2 yesterday doesn’t appear to have caused any overheating and the engine is doing just fine.

Takeshi Suenaga: We’re being extra careful because we are at a point now where we are all feeling tired and starting get used to the routine. Our servicing work itself is going really well.

Takashi Masuda: I’m feeling a bit tired from how our days are going in general and also from how our servicing work doesn’t seem to be going as smoothly as I had hoped. That said, I’m getting used to it and starting to get into the rhythm.

Seiichi Suzuki: We added extra flaps to keep flying stones from hitting radiator. There was more damage to Car 2’s radiator than just the hole.

* 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.

Photos

Route Map