Efforts Kick Off in Preparation for Dakar Rally 2017
Jun 21, 2016
―Team adds another training rally and selects dealership mechanics―
Dakar Rally organizers have finalized the host countries for the 2017 event, and HINO TEAM SUGAWARA has kicked off its preparation efforts as it aims for its 26th straight finish in the race, and eighth straight championship in its class. The team will be upgrading its trucks' performance and beefing up its summer training for the upcoming 2017 rally.
The team has been joined by its mechanics, who were screened and selected from among applicants from Hino dealerships nationwide.
We would like to thank you in advance for your enthusiastic support!
Outline of Dakar Rally 2017 Finalized
Organizers have finalized the host countries and route for Dakar Rally 2017, with Paraguay joining the ranks of host countries for the first time since the rally was relocated to South America in 2009. Together with Argentina and Bolivia, the event will be hosted by three nations in 2017.
The race is scheduled start off on January 2, 2017 from Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, and take contestants south toward the Argentinian border. Once in Argentina, the route will head north for Bolivian border. In Bolivia, the race will keep the teams at altitudes of no lower than 3,500 meters as they race north for La Paz, the country's capital, where they will take a day of rest on January 8.
At the beginning of the second half of the race, contestants will head south at 4,000-plus-meter altitudes along the eastern side of the Andes and skirt the Uyuni salt flats before re-entering Argentina. The Fiambalá desert in the western part of Argentina promises to be the highlight of the event.
Finally, after 13 torturous days of racing, contestants will finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 14, where they are expected to be cheered on by massive crowds at the winners' ceremony.
Spanning a total distance of over 8,000 kilometers and featuring four stages in the highlands of Bolivia, this Dakar Rally once again promises to be the world's most grueling race.
Route
You can scroll horizontally
| Date | Stage | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2, Monday | Start Ceremony and Stage 1 | Asuncion, Paraguay | Resistencia, Argentina |
| January 3, Tuesday | Stage 2 | Resistencia | Tucuman |
| January 4, Wednesday | Stage 3 | Tucuman | Jujuy |
| January 5, Thursday | Stage 4 | Jujuy | Tupiza, Bolivia |
| January 6, Friday | Stage 5 | Tupiza | Oruro |
| January 7, Saturday | Stage 6 | Oruro | La Paz |
| January 8, Sunday | Rest Day | La Paz | |
| January 9, Monday | Stage 7 | La Paz | Uyuni |
| January 10, Tuesday | Stage 8 | Uyuni | Salta, Argentina |
| January 11, Wednesday | Stage 9 | Salta | Chilecito |
| January 12, Thursday | Stage 10 | Chilecito | San Juan |
| January 13, Friday | Stage 11 | San Juan | Rio Cuarto |
| January 14, Saturday | Stage 12 and Finish Ceremony | Rio Cuarto | Buenos Aires |
Team to enter Silk Way Rally 2016 Russia-Kazakhstan-China
―Added as a training race in addition to Rally Mongolia 2016―
For the first time in the team's history, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA will be entering the Silk Way Rally, scheduled to be held from July 8 to 23, 2016 in Russia, Kazakhstan and China.
In addition to Rally Mongolia, which it has been entering on a regular basis, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA will be entering the rally as part of its summer training in preparation for the Dakar Rally in order to improve the skills of its drivers and mechanics, as well as to test the performance of its upgraded trucks. The Silk Way Rally will see entries from many of the team's rivals, and feature a large number of desert stages.
The team will be entering one truck, the HINO500 Series Car 2, which will be piloted by driver Teruhito Sugawara and navigator Hiroyuki Sugiura. This year again, the team's mechanics will be headed by Seiichi Suzuki* and Masaki Nakamura as mechanic leader and sub-leader, respectively, along with four mechanics who have been screened and selected from among applicants from Hino dealerships nationwide, including one new member* from Hino Motors, all of whom will ride in three support vehicles to back the racing truck.
On June 5, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA conducted a shakedown of its finished HINO500 Series Car 2 at Hino Motors' Ibaraki Test Track, and was able to confirm the various upgrades made to its performance. The truck is currently awaiting its departure for Moscow, where the race is scheduled to kick off.
* Will not be taking part in Rally Mongolia.
Silk Way Rally 2016 Russia-Kazakhstan-China - Outline
| Date | July 8th-23rd, 2016. |
|---|---|
| Country | Russia-Kazakhstan-China |
| Distance | Special Stage/4,105㎞ Connection/ 6,675㎞ Total/ 10,780㎞ |
Route
You can scroll horizontally
| Date | Stage | Start | Finish | Special Stage | Connection | Total (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 8, Fri | Ceremonial Start | Red Square, Moscow | - | - | - | |
| July 9, Sat | Stage 1 | Moscow | Kazan | 2 | 852 | 853 |
| July 10, Sun | Stage 2 | Kazan | Ufa | 136 | 486 | 622 |
| July 11, Mon | Stage 3 | Ufa | Kostanay | 200 | 612 | 812 |
| July 12, Tue | Stage 4 | Kostanay | Astana | 345 | 510 | 856 |
| July 13, Wed | Stage 5 | Astana | Balkhash | 569 | 252 | 821 |
| July 14, Thu | Stage 6 | Balkhash | Almaty | 411 | 445 | 856 |
| July 15, Fri | Rest day | Almaty | - | - | ||
| July 16, Sat | Stage 7 | Almaty | Bortala | 77 | 534 | 610 |
| July 17, Sun | Stage 8 | Bortala | Urumuqi | 257 | 572 | 829 |
| July 18, Mon | Stage 9 | Urumuqi | Hami | 384 | 383 | 767 |
| July 19, Tue | Stage 10 | Hami | Dunhuang | 340 | 144 | 484 |
| July 20, Wed | Stage 11 | Dunhuang | Jiayuguan | 330 | 259 | 590 |
| July 21, Thu | Stage 12 | Jiayuguan | Alashan | 425 | 253 | 678 |
| July 22, Fri | Stage 13 | Alashan | Wuhai | 367 | 368 | 735 |
| July 23, Sat | Stage 14 | Wuhai | Honhot | 261 | 513 | 774 |
| July 24, Sun | Stage 15 | Honhot | Beijing | 0 | 490 | 490 |
| Total | 4,105 | 6,675 | 10,780 | |||
Rally Mongolia 2016 - Outline
| Date | August 7th-14th, 2016. |
|---|---|
| Country | Mongolia |
| Distance | 3,800km |
| Route | Start and Finish at Ulaanbaatar |
Team Overview
| Vehicle | One HINO500 Series, Car 2 |
|---|---|
| Assistant Vehicle | One HINO Profia (FU), Two Hilux |
| Driver/Navigator | Teruhito Sugawara (JRM)*1, Hiroyuki Sugiura |
| Mechanic | Seiichi Suzuki (JRM), Leader *2 Masaki Nakamura (Hino Motor), Sub-leader Hiroyuki Azuma (Fukushima Hino Motors)*3, Koji Nakamura (Ishikawa Hino Motors), Junya Inoue (Okayama Hino Motors)*3, Kenji Kunimoto (Hiroshima Hino Motors), Yoichi Okabe (Hino Motors)*2 *1: JRM (Japan Racing Management Co., Ltd.) *2: Will not be taking part in Rally Mongolia 2016. *3: First time a Dakar Rally mechanic was selected from this dealership. |
Team selects dealership mechanics who will be taking on Dakar Rally 2017
From left to right: Hiroyuki Azuma (Fukushima Hino Motors), Koji Nakamura (Ishikawa Hino Motors),
Junya Inoue (Okayama Hino Motors), Kenji Kunimoto (Hiroshima Hino Motors)
In late May 2016, Hino Motors held a screening event at its Hamura Plant to select four mechanics from Hino dealerships to participate in Dakar Rally 2017.
Since 1995, Hino Motors has been inviting Hino mechanics nationwide to apply for spots on the team as race mechanics as part of its efforts to improve its mechanics' servicing skills. To date, a total of 47 mechanics have taken part in the Dakar Rally, a number that will rise to 51 including the four mechanics selected this year.
The mechanics joined the team early in June to take part in vehicle construction and training races as the team prepares for the main event at the Dakar Rally.
