Hino Motors finishes the Dakar Rally for the 17th year in succession and wins the championship in the under-10-liter class

　Hino Motors, Ltd. (“Hino”) finished the race for the 17th year in succession and won championship victory in the under-10-liter class in the Euromilhes Dakar Rally 2007 (usually referred to as the “Paris-Dakar Rally”), which unfolded on a stage in six different countries between Lisbon Portugal and Dakar Senegal on January 6-26.

　Hino first participated in the Paris-Dakar Rally, considered to be the most world’s grueling rally, in 1991 and, in order to win out in the fierce competition every year, it has continued to challenge the race while incorporating its technology in all respects including vehicle durability, running performance and reliability. Since the rally last year, the team name has been changed to the “Hino Team Sugawara” and Hino has reinforced the collaborative structure with the Team Sugawara led by Yoshimasa Sugawara, who holds the record for the most entries and most consecutive finishes in the history of the event. Furthermore, Hino produced a new vehicle with improved aerodynamic performance around in body in preparation for the event and set off for the rally with an unassailable team bolstered in part by an increase in the number of mechanics. Hino has been able to demonstrate again its outstanding technical capabilities and product strength by finishing the rally for the 17th year straight and winning the championship in the under-10-liter class.

　We at Hino will continue to provide products and services that satisfy our customers based on our spirit of challenge nurtured through motor sports and our state-of-the-art technological capabilities.

Camion category ranking Driver (manufacture) 1 STACEY (MAN) 2 MARDEEV (KAMAZ) 3 LOPRAIS (TATRA) 4 VAN GINKEL (GINAF) 5 DE AZEVEDO (TATRA) 6 JACQUOT (MAN) 7 RESHETNIKOV (KAMAZ) 8 BROUWER (GINAF) 9(1) Teruhito SUGAWARA (HINO) 13(2) Yoshimasa SUGAWARA (HINO)	(Photo) The Hino Team Sugawara and Hino Rangers, which completed the rally for the 17th successive year since first participating and won the championship in the under-10-liter class of the camion category.
Figures in( ):Ranking in the under-10-liter class

＜Reference＞

■ The history of Hino in the Dakar Rally

Hino entered the Dakar Rally as the first Japanese truck manufacturer in 1991. In 1994, a Hino truck finished in second place in the camion category and won second place again in 1995. Beginning in 1996, it reinforced its infrastructure while advocating the goal of winning the overall championship and, in 1997, it become the first ever in the history of the event to win the overall championship in the camion category in a thrilling performance, finishing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place to monopolize the entire top rank. It subsequently has won second place in the overall championship in the camion category three more times, continuing with persistent vigorous activity as a top team in the camion category. In addition, in 1996-2002, it won a string of championships for seven years straight in the newly established under-10-liter class of the camion category. This division was eliminated two years later and, then, when reestablished for the rally in 2005, Hino took the championship once again.

Cumulative total	year	Route	Distance (km)	Vehicle type	Result (Camion category/ Under 10 Liters class)
17	2007	Lisbon-Dakar	7,915	Hino Ranger	9th, 13th/winner (only the winner was awarded)
16	2006	Lisbon-Dakar	9,043		5th, 7th/NA
15	2005	Barcelona-Dakar	8,956		2nd, 6th/winner (only the winner was awarded)
14	2004	Clermont-Ferrand- Dakar	10,411		5th/NA
13	2003	Marseille -Sharm El Sheikh	8,602		5th/NA
12	2002	Arras-Madrid-Dakar	9,440		3rd/winner (7th consecutive victory in this class)
11	2001	Paris-Dakar	10,873		2nd/winner
10	2000	Paris-Dakar-Cairo	7,880		5th/winner
9	1999	Grenada-Dakar	9,441		4th/winner
8	1998	Paris-Grenada-Dakar	10,570		2nd/winner
7	1997	Dakar-Agadez-Dakar	8,051		Winner, 2nd, 3rd/winner, 2nd, 3rd (a record first in the Camion category)
6	1996	Grenada-Dakar	7,579		6th, 11th/winner, 2nd
5	1995	Grenada-Dakar	10,067		2nd/NA
4	1994	Paris-Dakar	13,398		2nd/NA
3	1993	Paris-Dakar	8,877		6th/NA
2	1992	Paris-Sirte-Cape Town	13,015		4th, 5th, 6th, 10th/NA
1	1991	Paris-Tripoli-Dakar	9,186		7th, 10th, 14th/NA (participated as the first Japanese truck manufacturer)