News Release
[Topics / DAKAR] The Dakar 2010 Race Report (Stage 4)
January 5, Fiambala (Argentina) to Copiapo (Chile)
Connection 394 km, SS 163 km*, Connection 32 km, Total: 589 km
(*The above distance was changed. Please refer to the report below.)
The rally continued on to Chile.
Our vehicles gained once again in ranking in a difficult stage over the Andes Mountains.
The Dakar 2010 entrants crossed the Andes Mountain range to Chile from Argentina on the 5th of January. As the degree of difficulty of the SS to Fiambala on the 4th was quite high due to the route crossing high dunes, coupled with high temperatures and altitudes, 9 of the 50 trucks in the Truck Division that started on the 4th had not arrived at the bivouac in Fiambala as of 11:26 p.m. (Moreover, we have no information to verify at this point whether all the entrant trucks actually started when the time cards were distributed at the start of the rally on the 4th.) Because the arrival of the many entrants were delayed, 38 cars in the Car Division also failed to arrive on time at the bivouac; their start time was delayed by 1 hour 30 minutes, so the distance of the SS was also shortened by approximately 40 km to allow them to make it up to the CP3 (Check Point 3) originally set in the SS. As a result of this, the connection was then changed to create a shortcut, so that entrants could drive to the next bivouac on a paved road. Using the connection route, today's participants first crossed the border at an altitude of 4,700 km in the middle of the Andes Mountains. The SS then started, at an altitude of about 2,300 km; and after reaching the highest point of the day at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, the entrants drove straight down to Copiapo situated at an altitude of only 200 meters. Although the road surfaces were hard at the beginning, the course also included areas where they had to cross more dunes. The vehicles also had to cross high dunes in the last phase of the course near Copiapo located right in the middle of the Atacama Desert.
Both Hino 500 Series vehicles of Hino Team Sugawara that achieved a breakthrough on the 4th -- in which Car 2 driven by Teruhito Sugawara/Seiichi Suzuki came in 9th in the Truck Division, and Car 1 driven by Yoshimasa Sugawara/Katsumi Hamura, 13th, respectively, exhibiting the Hino 500 Series vehicles' superior mobility during the first dune stage of the rally ? also finished a good rally on this day. Car 2, prudently driving the course frequently checking its water temperatures, reached the goal 10th in the overall Truck Division, 3rd in the Production Vehicle Division, and 2nd in the class with an engine displacement of below 10 liters. Although Car 1 made a slight course detour by mistake at the beginning, it safely came in 16th in the overall Truck Division, 6th, and 3rd, respectively. As a result, Car 2 raised its position further to 7th in the overall Truck Division, 2nd in the Production Vehicle Division, and 2nd in the class. Car 1 also advanced, to 10th, 4th, and 3rd.
As the assistance vehicles had to leave Fiambala after the start of the rally entrants, they arrived at Copiapo at around 6:00 p.m. (later than the entrants.) However, the 5 Hino mechanics promptly started checking the vehicles right after they arrived at the bivouac, without showing any fatigue from the long distance drive over regions of high altitude.
Yoshimasa Sugawara (Car 1 Driver)
We are now aware why there are so many spectators in the SS in the Dakar rally in South America. We have come to know that the areas where many people have gathered will always have some risky places and pitfalls. We drove safely even today by circumventing those risky places while securing the waypoints. Our vehicle is performing perfectly.
Katsumi Hamura (Car 1 Navigator)
We made a course detour of approximately 1.5 km in the beginning of the SS by mistake. Other than that, we drove smoothly and steadily. However, I struggled with a splitting headache due to oxygen deprivation. It was also difficult to correctly set the trip distance meter; we will have to drive with greater precision from tomorrow on.
Teruhito Sugawara (Car 2 Driver)
Copiapo was the place where we suffered so much vehicle trouble last year. We are so pleased that we could go through this stage safely. Although there were places where water temperatures were rather high, we experienced no trouble at all other than that. So far, we haven't even had a flat tire.
Seiichi Suzuki (Car 2 Navigator)
I had to use portable oxygen while we were driving over the 4,700 meter region in the connection; coupled with a headache, I also started to lose my voice when we entered the SS. I do not like high altitude areas, as it seemed the high altitude placed an additional burden on the engine. Despite this, the vehicle itself had no problem at all.
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*The rankings at the time when the report was written might be adjusted afterwards.
Refer to the latest ranking list.
http://www.dakar.com/us/DAKAR/2010/live.html
Try to track the competitors by Iritrack.
(how to use)
http://www.hino-global.com/news_release/160.html
(URL of Iritrack)
http://tracking.dakar.com/ASO/index_us.html
Send the message to HINO TEAM SUGAWARA
http://www.teamsugawara.jp/cgi-bin/tsbbs10.cgi
HINO Dakar official site
http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/index.html
Refer to the Terminology page
http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/about/terminology.html
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| Yamazaki mechanic working on chassis inspection. |
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| Mizuno mechanic re-tightening the bolts on the chassis. |
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| Kitamura mechanic checking the filters. |
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| Nakano mechanic diligently proceeding with the work. |
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| Fiambala (Argentina) to Copiapo (Chile) |
