Hino Motors teamed up with Team Sugawara, which is headed by Yoshimasa Sugawara, to form HINO TEAM SUGAWARA and entered two HINO500 Series trucks in the Trucks category of the Dakar Rally 2014. This year’s race was the culmination of the team’s 3-year program that it initiated in Dakar Rally 2012 to develop a new racing truck. This year, the racing truck was designated Car 2 and piloted by the Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura crew. And to complete a lineup reflecting the team’s ambitions, Car 1, a truck crewed by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Katsumi Hamura and powered by Hino’s new 9-litre engine, was entered a year ahead of the original plan. Among the many steps that were taken to reinforce the team’s support setup, Hino dispatched Katsuyuki Nagoshi from the Engine Engineering Division at Hino Motors as team engineer. The crew of mechanics was headed by Seiichi Suzuki from Japan Racing Management, Team Sugawara’s parent body, with Takeshi Suenaga from Hino Motors’ Vehicle Planning & Production Engineering Division filling the role of sub-leader. Mechanics Hiroaki Tamura (Higashi Hokkaido Hino Motors), Norishiro Senuma (Yokohama Hino Motors), and Tadahiko Fuke (Shiga Hino Motors) were all chosen from among numerous applicants from Hino dealerships throughout Japan.

Now in its sixth year since its relocation to South America, the Dakar Rally 2014 started off at Rosario, Argentina on January 5. By the time contestants finished at Valparaiso on January 18, they had traveled a total distance of 9209km of which timed sections (SS: Special stage) made up 5212km. Both HINO500 Series trucks delivered excellent performance right from the start gate with Car 2 and Car 1 coming in at 1st and 2nd positions, respectively in the Under 10-litre Class in the mountain stages in the early part of the race. The trucks went on to maintain their solid 1-2 lead in the Class throughout the race. On January 7, Car 2 suffered a tip-over on its side at very low speed, which fortunately had no impact on its driving performance.

The SS near Fiambala-where temperatures hit 47ºC and many vehicles were forced to withdraw from the race-proved to be no obstacle for either truck, with Car 2 and Car 1 finishing the first half of the race at 13th and 27th spot in accumulated rankings in the overall Trucks category, respectively. On the rest day in Salta, team mechanics carried out thorough inspections and repairs, after which the trucks were fully refreshed and made ready for the second half of the race in Chile. In the Atacama desert, where contestants faced the most challenging stages of the race, Car 2 showed off its excellent mobility as Class champion, and climbed to 12th spot overall. Car 1, which suffered an unfortunate course error, and would not reach the day’s finish until after dark for several days in a row, came in at 32th overall nonetheless, and reached the finish line in Valparaiso unscathed. As a result, the Hino team was able to achieve their 5th consecutive championship in the Under 10-litre Class with a 1-2 finish to boot. Car 2 notched a high overall ranking at 12th place, beating many of its oversized rivals in the Trucks category, and the team was pleasantly surprised at the performance of the new engine that powered Car 1. As truck speeds have been increasing year after year in this rally, and the trucks were arriving at the bivouac each day with varying degrees of damage, Hino’s servicing capabilities-where the mechanics worked late into the night to have the trucks fully serviced, repaired, and ready for the race in the morning-proved to be instrumental in this race, and showcased the fruits of the team’s efforts to reinforce its readiness in terms of both personnel and trucks.

Summary Race Report (PDF | 2.57MB)

Members of "HINO TEAM SUGAWARA" in Dakar Rally 2014

Car 1
Driver: Yoshimasa SUGAWARA
Navigator: Katsumi Hamura

Car 2
Driver: Teruhito SUGAWARA
Navigator: Hiroyuki Sugiura

Mechanic leader: Seiichi Suzuki
Mechanic sub-leader: Takeshi Suenaga, Hino Motors, Ltd.
Mechanics:
Hiroaki Tamura, Higashi Hokkaido Hino Motors, Ltd.
Norishiro Senuma, Yokohama Hino Motors, Ltd.
Tadahiko Fuke, Shiga Hino Motors, Ltd.

Engineer: Katsuyuki Nagoshi, Hino Motors, Ltd.

Route Map

Special Stage: 5,212km
Connection: 3,997km
Total Distance: 9,209km (Truck Category)

Number of Entrants

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