Dakar Rally 2014 Finally About to Start

On January 2, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's trucks successfully passed vehicle inspections in Rosario, Argentina where the team has been carrying out final adjustments to its racing trucks since mid-December. The team appeared before the media at a press conference organized by Argentina Toyota on January 3 and this concluded all preparations leading up to the start of the race.

This year's race, which will be the 6th since Dakar Rally organizers relocated the race to South America, will be a milestone race for HINO TEAM SUGAWARA in that this will be the last and culminating year in its 3-year development program that it launched in 2011 to develop a new racing truck, as well as the first year in the development of a truck powered by the new A09C engine. Car 2, the new racing truck that will be piloted by the Teruhito Sugawara/Hiroyuki Sugiura crew, is an upgraded version of the truck that entered the 2013 race as Car 1 and has received further power upgrades to its common rail fuel-injected J08C engine. Car 1, piloted by the Yoshimasa Sugawara/Katsumi Hamura crew is equipped with a new engine producing an output of 600 hp. As such, expectations are great for both trucks in terms of the team continuing its winning streak in the Under 10-litre class, and finishing at high rankings in the Trucks category overall.

Since they took possession of their trucks that arrived from Japan on December 19, the team has been carrying out final preparations at an adjunct facility of Argentina Toyota in Rosario. On January 2, the team successfully completed vehicle inspections and documentation procedures for team personnel at the organizer's vehicle inspection center set up in central Rosario. To wrap up all preparations for the past year leading up to the 2014 race, the trucks were moved to the Parc-Fermes (vehicle storage area) that was set up adjacent to the Monumento Nacional a la Bandera, the National Flag Memorial where the start ceremony is scheduled to be held on the 4th.

Located approximately 300km northwest of Argentina's capital city of Buenos Aires, Rosario is situated on the west bank of Paraná River in the province of Santa Fe. The mood was decidedly festive with a large crowd gathering at the vehicle inspection center that was set up in the convention center located in the southern part of the city. European teams have already completed their preliminary inspections and have had their number stickers applied before their vehicles were loaded on ship in France. While it has not been unheard of for this process to take up to half a day for the Hino team as these tasks must be performed on South American soil, the team was able to avoid any problems this year as it maintained close contact with the organizers in terms of the fabrication of their new trucks. The mechanics, who were in charge of documentation procedures, and the drivers, who were responsible for moving the trucks to the inspection center, worked very well together, and the trucks were able to complete their inspections and moved to Parc-Fermes in about 2.5 hours. This concluded all pre-start preparations for the team's trucks.

On January 3, drivers Yoshimasa and Teruhito Sugawara appeared at a press conference that was held at the inspection center. After the Hino team was introduced as the only Japanese team that has continued racing in the Trucks division, the two drivers - both of whom were quietly eager to start the race to achieve their objective of winning the team's 5th consecutive championship in the Under 10-litre class, and achieving high rankings in the Trucks category overall - fielded many questions from local media representatives. On the evening of January 4, a starting ceremony will be held in Rosario, and finally on January 5, the entrants will be charging out of the start line, racing towards San Luis, their first bivouac.

Yoshimasa Sugawara: I am fully up to speed personally and as team director. I believe that the environment that we work in must be set up just so to enable us to maintain our concentration throughout the duration of this long rally. The mood in our team is upbeat and we work very well with each other. We've successfully completed our vehicle inspections, so we are fully prepared for the race to kick off. Our truck is powered by a new engine, and that can always be cause for some concern, but suffice to say that my expectations for the truck are even greater.

Katsumi Hamura: We've been carrying out preparations here since December 19, and I have to tell you that the heat has been more brutal than ever. That said, I'm in great physical condition and I've been able to adjust well leading up to the start of the race. In any event, our new Car 1 is fast so I am very excited about how the race will go.

Teruhito Sugawara: In many ways, the HINO500 Series truck that I will be driving this year represents the culmination of all trucks powered by the J08C 8-litre engine that we have fielded in the Dakar Rally since 1996. Thanks to upgrades, the truck is faster by at least 10% compared to the truck we raced on last year, and I am excited to see what it is capable of.

Hiroyuki Sugiura: Preparations went swimmingly well. Our tests in Rally Mongolia gave us a real sense of the impact that the power upgrades have made on Car 2, and I am just itching to get started. I am taking a brief breather here having completed vehicle inspections, but my responsibilities as a navigator begins soon so I intend to give it my all.

Seiichi Suzuki: There were quite a few new elements to our trucks this year, so I wouldn't have been surprised were we to come across problems during the inspection. But thanks to the close contact we maintained with the organizers throughout our fabrication process with regard to modifications and interpretations of regulations, things went very smoothly. So that was a relief. I'm getting used to the mood of this event, and my motivation is high.

Takeshi Suenaga: We passed the vehicle inspections without event. There are many more things that we must do leading up to the start, such as checks and simulations, so this time now is not so much a breather for me as it is a time that I am starting to feel the intensity of the race.

Hiroaki Tamura: I've been involved since the fabrication process, and it's a strange feeling in that these past months can feel like a very long time but also like they just zipped by.

Norishiro Senuma: This is the first time I've experienced a vehicle inspection for racing vehicles, and this gave me a real sense that I was part of a rally team. I am a bit relieved, but there is an intensity in knowing that the race is about to begin.

Tadahiko Fuke: I kind of had in mind the motor vehicle authority vehicle inspection centers that I routinely visit for work, so I was very surprised to see that the mood was actually very festive. I am feeling a good kind of tension knowing that the rally is about to start.

Katsuyuki Nagoshi: I was here to observe the vehicle inspection center for last year's race, but now that I am a part of this team, I'm feeling a palpable difference. I believe that my perspectives as an engineer will benefit the team, so I am actively observing what the other teams are doing as well.

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