New Course in Tucuman is a One-Track Road. No Overtaking Possible.
Car 2 and Car 1 finish the SS at 29th and 42nd, respectively.

Dakar Rally 2015 is now in its final stages, and on January 15, contestants raced on a 194km SS set between Salta and Termas de Rio Hondo. 184km south of Salta on a liaison route, the SS was set on a completely new course in the intermountain areas near San Miquel de Tucuman. This was a one-track gravel piste, consisting of a combination of high-speed and winding segments. Crews on the two HINO500 Series trucks entered by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA finished this SS without any fuss. Car 2 crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura caught up with a vehicle ahead of them but could not overtake it because the road was too narrow. Upon tailing this truck for 100km, the truck finished the SS at 29th in the Trucks category and top in the Under 10-litre Class. Car 1 piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara, Yoko Wakabayashi, and Katsumi Hamura also suffered a 20-minute delay in the fesh-fesh segment towards the end while they waited for a stuck vehicle being towed out. Car 1 finished 42nd overall and 5th in the class. This brings the accumulated positions in the Trucks category overall for Car 2 and Car 1 to 17th (unchanged) and 31st (up by 1 position), respectively. Both trucks continue to maintain their 1-2 positions in the Under 10-litre Class.

Both HINO500 Series trucks are powered by the A09C engine, which has been given power upgrades primarily from improvements to their intake and exhaust systems, and ride on front and rear suspensions that have been upgraded with torque rods and long tapered leaf springs with helper coil springs. Thanks to these upgrades, the trucks have continued put up a good fight against veteran rivals in the larger class. And while the last days of the rally will present opportunities for Car 2 and Car 1 to improve their positions as contestants begin to feel the toll on their vehicles and themselves, the Hino team will also have to show their mettle to reach the finish line safely and without making any errors. Upon arriving at the bivouac at Termas de Rio Hondo, which was set up in a famous race circuit, the crew and staff reconfirmed their commitment to do their best in the last two days of the race.

On January 16, contestants will race on a 298km SS set en route to Rosario. This will be a long day with a total travel distance of 1024km including the liaison routes before and after the SS. As such, this stage is sure to be a test of concentration and focus.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: We hit up to 140km/h on our speedometer in the high-speed segments, but about 20km to the finish line, we came across a vehicle that was stuck in fesh-fesh and was being pulled out by another vehicle. I think we lost about 20 minutes.

Yoko Wakabayashi: Navigation went problem-free today. I'm feeling a bit tired, but I should be fine as it appears we will be able to rest well tonight.

Katsumi Hamura: All the branches in the road were marked with course tapes, so we didn't have much to do in this stage as navigators. I intend to stay on my toes tomorrow as the liaison routes will be long.

Teruhito Sugawara: We had our engine's control parameters adjusted and that gave us better response today. It felt good driving the truck. The SS consisted of hard public roadways, high-speed pistes, and some fesh-fesh, but I don't think the course was much suited for racing as there were too many spectators.

Hiroyuki Sugiura: There were many sections in the SS where we saw a lot of people. There were 10 areas where the speed limit was set to 50km/h. The courses were way to narrow for trucks so there was no way we were going to overtake anyone.

* 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.

YouTube by J SPORTS
Dakar Rally 2015 - Playlist
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2qHJ6JYuHy3EIASRdVzA-Cjj2Ek2eQD7

Photos

Route Map