The Hino team, all together on the starting podium, vows to do well.

HINO600 Series heading down the podium to the bivouac.

On January 5, the prologue run to determine the order of competitors for the first stage of Dakar Rally 2024 was held around Al Ula in Saudi Arabia, the starting point of the event. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA, competing in the Trucks category under the HINO600 series, finished 15th in the 47 car Trucks category without any problems and was fully prepared for a full-scale start on the following day, the 6th.

After entering Saudi Arabia in early December, the Hino team made final vehicle adjustments in Jeddah, a city on the Red Coast located southwest of Al Ula. And from January 14 to 16, the team participated in the local "Jeddah Rally" as a test to confirm the vehicle's finish. Then on the afternoon of January 1, the team entered the starting camp in Al Ula, and on January 3, the vehicle passed the inspection without any problems. They have been making good preparations.
The HINO 600 series of bonnet-type vehicles will continue to be used for the race.　For this year's competition, a significant weight reduction and a review of the drivetrain have been carried out to improve overall competitiveness as well as reliability. The team's crew are Teruhito Sugawara, the team leader, as driver, Hirokazu Somemiya as navigator, and Yuji Mochizuki (Hino Motors employee) as ride mechanic, a lineup that has been in place since the 2020 event. Their abundant knowledge and excellent teamwork will be the strengths of the team.
The support team, consisting of staff from Hino Motors and Japan Racing Management, will also include mechanics dispatched by dealers, which had been suspended since the 2021 event due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The two selected mechanics, Tsuyoshi Fukuta (Aichi Hino Motors) and Akinobu Saito (Tochigi Hino Motors), have a wealth of experience in road service and are expected to be immediately effective.

The course for the day was set north of the bivouac in Al Ula, located in the hilly northwestern part of the country. From the bivouac in Al Ula, a 71km liaison took them to the start point. And after running the 27km loop-shaped competition section, they returned to the bivouac again by a 65km liaison. The road surface was all sandy, and the course was twisty pistes with ups and downs that goes between rocks, even sand dunes appeared.　It was typical of northern Saudi Arabia. Please note that the results of the prologue will be reflected in the starting order of the first stage, but the time will not be added to the overall result of the competition (accumulation of the time required for each stage).
After returning to the bivouac, participants went to the starting podium set up in the bivouac. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA also took to the podium a little after 5:00 p.m., and tighten their mood for tomorrow's first stage. On January 6, a 405km race is planned, starting from Al Ula and heading southeast to Al Henakiyah.

　

Teruhito Sugawara:
Although it was a short distance, we had no trouble and everything went well. I feel that the test entries in the Jeddah Rally have been effective not only in terms of the vehicle's finish, but also in terms of the teamwork of the crew. I was able to drive with the top trucks in the Trucks category, and the pace was as good as I had expected.

Hirokazu Somemiya:
Participating in the Jeddah Rally, which uses the same navigation equipment as the Dakar Rally, helped me to navigate smoothly from the beginning.This time, I will do my best to make 100% no mistakes.

Yuji Mochizuki:
I am grateful to be able to continue Dakar activities even though the company is in a difficult situation. This year, we have reopened the application process for mechanics from sales companies, and we received applications from 13 companies from all over Japan. We have a small elite team structure, but we will all do our best. During today's competition, I also helped the navigators by checking waypoints. I'm very busy because I have to look at the meter, but I hope I can be of help to Mr. Somemiya.

Takayuki Monma:
I am back as team manager for the first time in 13 years, since I participated as a mechanic in 2011. Teamwork has been fostered through preparation, and the vehicle is ready to go, so I would like to aim for single-digit results in the Trucks category first.

Seiichi Suzuki:
For this year's truck, we dropped the hybrid system to reduce weight, while increasing the engine output to 800 PS and optimizing the differential gear ratios to improve the total driving performance.　Although there are no new innovations, I believe the increased reliability will have a positive impact on our daily performance.

Shintaro Kojima:
I am a mechanic dispatched from the Powertrain Testing Department. My motivation for joining Hino Motors was to participate in the Dakar Rally, so I am very excited to be able to work at the site I have always dreamed of. I will do my best to pass this activity on to the next generation.

Akinobu Saito:
I am the first mechanic from Tochigi Hino to be dispatched to the Dakar. The president of the company also supported my application. I feel a strong sense of fulfillment as a mechanic when working at rally sites. I am seriously tackling troubleshooting and other tasks with a sense of excitement.

Tsuyoshi Fukuta:
There are four senior dispatched mechanics at Aichi Hino, where I work, and they recommended me to apply because the Dakar Rally is tough, but I can gain experience that can only be had here. The Jeddah Rally, which I participated in as a test, was tough but very interesting. I will do my best to maintain teamwork and aim for the top positions in the Dakar Rally.

Teruhito Sugawara, Hirokazu Somemiya, and Yuji Mochizuki in their fifth year as a team.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA is fired up for the start.