The 2017 edition of the Dakar Rally, the apex of all cross-country motor events, ran from January 2 to 14 over a distance of approximately 8,000 kilometers through Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina in South America.
HINO TEAM SUGAWARA entered two HINO500 Series trucks in the trucks category. Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura led the Car 2 crew to finish in eighth place overall, joining the ranks of their larger rivals. This was the first top-10 finish for the team in five years, and its eighth straight championship in the Under 10-litre Class. The Car 1 truck, piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi, finished 29th overall and second in its class. With these stunning results, Hino was able to crown its 26th consecutive entry in the Dakar Rally with a one-two finish in its class and a top-10 finish overall.

The two HINO500 Series trucks fielded in the 2017 event were the embodiments of the team’s passion, propelled by upgraded A09C-TI engines (8.866L) and having received further upgrades to their racing performance and durability through real-world testing in Silk Way Rally 2016 (July 8 to 23, hosted by Russia, Kazakhstan and China).
Car 1 was driven by Yoshimasa Sugawara, captain of the team, and Car 2 by Teruhito Sugawara, the team’s ace driver and Yoshimasa’s son. Their trucks were navigated by Mitsugu Takahashi and Hiroyuki Sugiura, respectively.

Marking the ninth year since the rally relocated to South America, the rally was hosted in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina, with Paraguay hosting for the first time.The rally kicked off in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, on January 2, and took contestants into Argentina the same day, where they traversed the country. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA delivered smooth performance during these early stages of the race, with Car 2 holding its position between 12th and 19th, and Car 1 between 31st and 41st overall among 50 entrants in the trucks category.
In Bolivia, contestants were met with full-fledged highland stages at 4,000-meter-plus elevations, and the course terrain was more difficult to drive on. The Car 2 crew leveraged their truck’s inherent speed and demonstrated their precise navigation capabilities, finishing in the ninth spot overall on the SS of January 6, improving their cumulative overall position to 12th place.

The crew continued to clock good time in the second half of the rally following the rest day on January 8 in La Paz, the country’s capital, moving up in cumulative overall rankings to eighth place by January 10, making it into the top 10.This year’s event was fraught with bad weather, primarily in Bolivia, turning roads into mud pools and forcing organizers to shorten or cancel special stages on several occasions. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA took all of these disruptions in stride. The Car 2 crew, Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, finished the last of the difficult stages in the deserts of the Andean foothills without any errors, crossing the finish line in Buenos Aires on January 14 in eighth place overall, and top in the Under 10-litre Class. In a demonstration of their mettle as veterans, the Car 1 crew, Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi, moved up in rankings on the difficult courses in the last legs of the race, finishing 29th overall and second in their class. Both crews were joined on the podium by Hino Motors Chairman of the Board Masakazu Ichikawa, who had flown in from Japan.

Many members of the Hino Argentina sales team and a large number of associates from other Latin American countries arrived at the goal venue to congratulate the team. With Car 2 joining the ranks of its larger rivals contending for overall championship, and Cars 2 and 1 crowning the team’s 8th consecutive win in the Under 10-litre Class with a one-two finish, this marked a jubilant conclusion to Dakar Rally 2017 for HINO TEAM SUGAWARA.

Result of the truck division

You can scroll horizontally

「HINO TEAM SUGAWARA」　Dakar Rally 2017 Team Member

Car 1
Driver: Yoshimasa SUGAWARA
Navigator: Mitsugu Takahashi

Car 2
Driver: Teruhito SUGAWARA
Navigator: Hiroyuki Sugiura

Mechanic leader: Seiichi Suzuki
Mechanic sub-leader: Masaki Nakamura, Hino Motors
Mechanics:
Hiroyuki Azuma, Fukushima Hino Motor, Ltd.
Koji Nakamua, Ishikawa Hino Motor, Ltd.
Junya Inoue, Okayama Hino Motor, Ltd.
Kenji Kunimoto, Hiroshima Hino Motor, Ltd.

Route Map

Special Stage（SS）：　2,262km
Connection：　5,861km
Total Distance：　8,123km (Only for the truck division)

You can scroll horizontally

Number of Entrants

You can scroll horizontally