Travel Distance and Number of Entries for Dakar Rally 2019 Announced What are driver Teruhito Sugawara's strategies?
Dec 28, 2018
Now that we are counting days to the start of Dakar Rally 2019, rally organizers have announced the travel distances for all stages and the number of racing vehicles entered. The total travel distance for the Trucks category is 5,598 km, of which SSs (Special Segments) make up a total of 2,954 km. While the total travel distance and SSs are shorter compared to the previous event, this event will feature a large number of segments in the Pisco desert, where driver Yoshimasa Sugawara and other teams were forced to withdraw from the race in the previous event. As such, we expect to see some high-intensity racing.
Driver Teruhito Sugawara had this to say leading up to the upcoming rally:
Teruhito Sugawara, Driver:Stage 4 will be a marathon stage, which means we will not be returning to our bivouac where our mechanics are and we will not be receiving any support from them. If anything happens, my navigator and I will have to take care of the problem ourselves. Any problem in this segment can be fatal, but we need to stay alert as we can also easily lose time if we become too risk-averse and slow our pace.
Thanks to having more mechanics on the team, we will also be able to improve our preventive servicing operations. At the end of each stage, our mechanics will be checking any areas that may have taken a beating and replacing parts before they break down. This procedure alone will allow us to race more aggressively the following day.
Dakar Rally 2019 Travel Distances
| Date | Stage | Start | Finish | Total | SS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Jan 7 | Stage 1 | Lima (Peru) | Pisco | 331 | 84 |
| Tue, Jan ８ | Stage 2 | Pisco | San Juan de Marcona | 553 | 342 |
| Wed, Jan 9 | Stage 3 | San Juan de Marcona | Arequipa | 798 | 331 |
| Thur, Jan 10 | Stage 4 (Marathon) |
Arequipa | Moquegua (Bike/Quad) Tacna (Truck/SXS/Car) |
664 | 351 |
| Fri, Jan 11 | Stage 5 (Marathon) |
Moquegua (Bike/Quad) Tacna (Truck/SXS/Car) |
Arequipa | 714 | 450 |
| Sat, Jan 12 | Rest day | Arequipa | ― | ― | |
| Sun, Jan 13 | Stage 6 | Arequipa | San Juan de Marcona | 810 | 290 |
| Mon, Jan 14 | Stage 7 | San Juan de Marcona | San Juan de Marcona | 387 | 323 |
| Tue, Jan 15 | Stage 8 | San Juan de Marcona | Pisco | 575 | 360 |
| Wed, Jan 16 | Stage 9 | Pisco | Pisco | 407 | 311 |
| Thur, Jan 17 | Stage 10 | Pisco | Lima (Peru) | 359 | 112 |
| Total (km) | 5,598 | 2,954 | |||
Deserts make up 70% of the courses in this upcoming rally, and contestants face a marathon stage on Jan 10 and 11.
Please see the organizer's web site for course details. https://www.dakar.com/en
Number of Entries in Dakar Rally 2019
| Category | 2018 | 2019 | Increase | Percentage over previous event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bikes | 142 | 138 | -4 | 97% |
| Quads (buggies) | 50 | 29 | -21 | 58% |
| Cars | 92 | 96 | 4 | 104% |
| UTVs (utility vehicles) | 13 | 30 | 17 | 230% |
| Trucks | 44 | 41 | -3 | 93% |
| Total (vehicles) | 341 | 334 | -7 | 98% |
Racing numbers for the HINO500 Series trucks in this upcoming rally are "517" for Car 1 and "510" for Car 2.
Racing numbers in the Dakar Rally are assigned for each category based on their final standing in the previous rally, with smaller numbers assigned to those higher up in rankings. Racing trucks in the Trucks category are assigned numbers in the 500s. HINO500 Series Car 1 was assigned "517", and Car 2 was assigned "510". When viewing the latest standings or checking the GPS-based tracking system during the rally on the organizer's site (https://www.dakar.com/), please make sure to check out numbers "517" and "510"!
