Trucks Are Fully Refreshed for the Second Half
Rest day at Iquique, Chile

On January 11 of Dakar Rally 2015, the Cars and Trucks categories had a day of rest in Iquique, Chile. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA, which fields two HINO500 Series trucks, have so far had no serious problems or accidents in the first half of the race, and the trucks will be fully refreshed today to bring them to top shape to take on the second half.

After launching out of the start gate in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 4, the trucks first raced northward on the Andes foothills, and crossed the Andes Mountains entering Chile on January 7, where they raced an SS in the Atacama Desert. They then raced a marathon loop stage based out of Iquique and concluded their first half of the race on January 11.

Both HINO500 Series truck - which are now powered by the newly developed A09C 9L engine and have received significant suspension upgrades - are keeping up a good fight with its much larger rivals. Car 2 piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura is currently at 17th position in the overall Trucks category and top in the Under 10-litre Class, and Car 1 piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara, Yoko Wakabayashi, and Katsumi Hamura is at 30th overall and 2nd in its Class. Car 1 has a 19h 29m 45s lead over the A. Cabini crew (Mercedes Benz Unimog) who are currently at 3rd place in the class. So the Hino team is making solid progress towards its goal of continuing its winning streak in the Under 10-litre Class, and finishing at a high position in the overall Trucks category.

The trucks have 5 more stages to go in the second half of the rally. No one is about to let their guards down as the race will take them through fresh territory into which the Dakar Rally has never ventured in the past. This year's race is particularly nerve racking as the dunes are very difficult and hard road surfaces abound that can cause damage to the trucks. Hino team mechanics carried out thorough inspections and servicing on the rest day, January 12. Servicing work actually began in the afternoon of January 11 when the trucks arrived at Iquique, and ended in the afternoon of the 12th. The 5 crew members are now refreshed after a day of rest, and the team is fully prepared to take on the second half of the race.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: We will stay focused as we will be racing on dunes tomorrow. We will be keeping up our current pace, and we will also be exercising caution to maintain our current position.

Yoko Wakabayashi: We received our road book for tomorrow and there appear to be many modifications. I intend to stay grounded and keep my pace as nothing good can come out of getting too nervous.

Katsumi Hamura: I had a good rest so I'm feeling good now. Tomorrow could be the last dune segment of this year's race, so we intend to deliver solid performance.

Teruhito Sugawara: Perseverance will be the theme for the day tomorrow as there will be a lot of hard road surfaces. The second half of the race is relatively short so we intend to push our truck a bit more. We will be racing in the same area we were in yesterday ... again. The course to Calama in the latter part of the day appears to be exactly the same as last year's.

Hiroyuki Sugiura: I intend to stay calm and focused. I think we will need to be careful as we've just come out of our rest day and the race for the day will be long. It seems like this could be the last dune segment for this year so we want to complete it with a solid performance.

Hironaga Hayashi: The day to day servicing work has been much harder than I had imagined. Our footing is not ideal and the trucks are covered in sand, so that has an impact on our efficiency. I work on Car 1 so Yoshimasa Sugawara coaches us on a variety of things everyday, for example, on how to service details in the cabin, and points to look out for during preventive servicing so that we can fix potential problems before they occur. I think the mindset of "How can we work accurately and efficiently?" will be a big asset for me even when I'm back home at my workplace. Having actually taken part in the Dakar Rally, I was just blown away at the scale of the event. You look around at the other teams and they are all just out of this world! From seeing these other teams from around the world, I've come to realize how I've still got a lot of things to learn as a mechanic.

Shunsuke Sugawara: I'm just having a blast. Just riding in the transport cars is so much fun. What I mean by fun here is that this has given me a "sense of purpose," and I have peace of mind as the trucks that we made are competing in the race and both of these trucks, so far in the first half, have come back to the bivouacs without any major problems. But even under these circumstances, I'm starting to see some of the trucks' weak points, so I intend to focus on these areas and work quicker in the second half. Up till now, I've just been focusing on my areas of responsibility, but once the trucks are actually out on the tracks, you start to realize that you have to service the trucks with an overall perspective. This has been a very precious lesson for me. Of our rival teams, the top teams who are seriously here to win are clearly in a class of their own. The meticulous way in which they work, their servicing capabilities, and their professionalism are things that we at Hino can learn from. A Kamaz truck suffered extensive damage the other day, but the team actually put the truck back together by morning and they sent it off for the race as scheduled. Are we capable of something like that? The only way to find out is to be put in that situation, but one thing I can say is that we have to work to win. On a personal note, January 10 was my birthday. I think I will remember this birthday for the rest of my life. (laughs)

Hiroya Fukuno: It feels like the first half just zipped by. Each and every day has had a huge impact on me. Before the race, I was a bit anxious on how the team would work together, but as soon as the race started, I realized that I mustn't hold back. In a race situation, holding back or hesitating for even a split second can lead to lost time, so I shifted my thinking and decided to make active communication, regardless of seniority, with a priority on "what needs to be done at the moment" as a team. We work without taking breaks and we're pretty wasted by morning, but it was our ability to support each other when things got tough that brought us this far, so I think we have a very good team atmosphere. So far, I don't feel that our work environment is that tough. I rather feel that the prep work that we did leading up to the race might have been tougher. So that was good training for me and has given me the ability to work under these tough conditions.

Takashi Masuda: To be honest, I was quite anxious at first. The change in working environment was one element, but I also felt an uneasiness when I started to see the punishing nature of the Dakar Rally first hand from seeing damage on parts and components where one would least expect. However, after completing the work one day at a time, I was able to get into my own groove by around day 3. While we always focus on getting the work done without any errors within a given timeframe in our normal work back home, in a racing environment, the time constraints are much tighter and there is absolutely no room for error. So we focus on achieving maximum efficiency and completing our work without any errors. Under these pressing conditions of the Dakar Rally, I feel that I'm learning the "basics of the basics of working as a mechanic." A Kamaz truck sustained extensive damage the other day, and their team worked through the night to repair the truck. And as the truck started out of the bivouac, a spontaneous round of applause rung out from the other teams. I realized then that there were many people on other teams with the spirit and capability of pulling off such a feat. I have been very inspired by being able to actually take part in this noble undertaking, and for that I am very grateful for everyone who has made this possible.

* 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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