Dakar Rally organizers announced that the 2015 rally will be held in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile - the same countries that hosted the previous rally. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA will be entering trucks powered by the A09C engine, now in the second year of its three-year program, aiming to achieve a high ranking in the trucks category and win the team's sixth straight championship in the under 10-litre class.

In the 2015 rally, the team will also be deploying the A09C engine on Car 2, which will be driven by Teruhito Sugawara.

Hino Motors will once again be teaming up with Team Sugawara, directed by Yoshimasa Sugawara, to enter two HINO500 Series trucks in Dakar Rally 2015 as HINO TEAM SUGAWARA. The team hopes to achieve its sixth straight championship in the under 10-litre class, as well as finish high in the overall truck category rankings. In 2014, the first year of the three-year program, the team replaced the J08C engine on Yoshimasa Sugawara's Car 1 with the new A09C engine. As a result of this change, the truck was not only able to finish the race - a grueling ordeal in itself, as evidenced by the 48 percent finish rate in all categories, including bikes and cars - but finished in second place in the under 10-litre class. Car 2, powered by the J08C engine and driven by Teruhito Sugawara, won its fifth consecutive championship in the under 10-litre class - a crowning achievement for the engine the team had nurtured and developed over the years.

In the next rally, the team will be making performance upgrades to Car 2 based on the A09C-powered Car 1 from the 2014 rally. The truck will be driven by Teruhito Sugawara, who will be aiming for a high ranking in the overall trucks category. The new Car 2 will be mounted with a narrower standard-width cab to achieve better aerodynamics and a lighter weight.It will also receive significant upgrades to its suspension system, and will be given more rigidity in its chassis frame and rear body to improve performance over rough terrain. Additionally, both Car 1 and Car 2 will receive further output and torque upgrades to their A09C engines.

This summer, the team will be screening mechanics from nationwide dealers who work at the forefront of Hino Motors' Total Support operations to create a solid team organization that will be capable of challenging its monster-truck-style rivals from Europe.

Team begins fabricating truck for 2015 Mongolia Rally.

Car 1 has arrived at the truck fabrication site. As the new units and components the team has been developing since last autumn become available, it has begun a thorough process of disassembly and inspection. Car 1 is scheduled to be reassembled as a racing truck early in July and enter the 2015 Mongolia Rally in August, which will represent a real-world testing ground for the upgraded truck. We will be providing updates on detailed vehicle specifications as they become available.

Please keep an eye out for future announcements from the team.

In Dakar News, we provide regular updates on team activities and other matters of interest. We also feature columns written by team staff members and videos on our official Facebook page and YouTube channel. We also plan to provide daily reports during the race next year, so we hope you'll return to visit our page regularly.

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Rally organizers hold press conference in Japan.

Dakar Rally organizers held a press conference in Tokyo on April 17. The venue was packed with over 80 people, including reporters and members of HINO TEAM SUGAWARA, Team Land Cruiser and Team HRC. Also present as a special guest was Giniel de Villiers of Team Imperial Toyota, whose parent organization is Toyota South Africa. Drivers from each of the teams commented on their accomplishments in 2014 and their ambitions for the next Dakar Rally, after which the organizers offered unmitigated praise to the spirit of challenge and sportsmanship exhibited by each of the Japanese teams.

This was followed by the organizers' announcement of some of the particulars of next year's race. The 2015 rally will be contested over a period of 14 days from January 4 to 17 on a loop course, with Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires serving as both the start and finishpoint. All categories will now include a two-day marathon stage, during which the crew and race vehicles will not be able to receive support from assisting staff or team mechanics. During the marathon stage, the crew must service their vehicles themselves using only the limited supply of parts loaded onto their vehicles. The race promises to be a challenging one that will not only test the durability of the vehicles but also the servicing skills of the crew.

Yoshimasa Sugawara, a veteran who holds the record for 32 consecutive entries in the race, as well as Teruhito Sugawara and Giniel de Villiers, listened intently to the organizers' presentation, their expressions solemn as they perhaps pictured the course and strategized their moves in their minds. Expectations were already running high among reporters and other participants as they sensed the increasing challenge of the Dakar Rally, and how this might up the ante for the approaching competition.

Route information of 2015 edition