The 2022 Dakar Rally has finally started. On January 1st, the 19.51 km Stage 1A, the first stage of the Dakar Rally, was held near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with 144 two-wheeled vehicles, 20 quads (four-wheeled motorcycles), 89 four-wheeled vehicles, 48 small buggies (T3), 47 small buggies with a wide range of modifications (T4), 5 open class cars, and 56 trucks, for a total of 409 vehicles participating in the race.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA, which will be using the hybrid version of the HINO 600 Series in the Truck category for the first time in this rally, drove smoothly while checking the hybrid system, and reached the goal in 22nd place overall in this category. After arriving in Hail, the starting point of the rally, after a 595.71 km travel section, the team joined the ceremonial start at a venue adjacent to the bivouac, and once again pulled themselves together for the start of the rally.

This rally, which will be held for the third time after moving from South America to Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, has set the starting point in the northern city of Hail. After performing preparatory procedures such as car inspections in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, the participants moved to Hail while digesting the first Stage 1A on January 1st. Stage 1B of 333km will be held on the loop course starting from Hail on January 2nd, and the full-scale competition will start.

The SS of the day was set on a hill near the coast, 225 km north of Jeddah. Most of them are sandy pistes (unpaved roads), but large sand dunes have also appeared. Although the course length is short, it shows the difficulty of this rally.

The HINO Team, which will be competing in Dakar for the first time with a hybrid vehicle, have made careful final adjustments locally, such as participating in a test race at the "Hail Rally" held in the desert area near Hail from December 8th to 11th. In addition to dealing with minor problems, we have been studying how to effectively draw out the output of the hybrid system during the competition, and have squeezed the settings. In the SS of the day, which was the first competition section in Dakar, the road surface was not able to obtain a strong hybrid regeneration-assist effect, such as a series of steep sand dunes, but the goal was no trouble. The combination of team representative and driver Teruhito Sugawara, navigator Hirokazu Somemiya, and mechanic Yuji Mochizuki (HINO Motors) has made a good start for the third consecutive year.

The loop course on the second day has less dune crossing but continues to have a soft sandy surface. A tough stage is expected from the beginning of the race.

Teruhito Sugawara

This was my first start in Dakar with a hybrid vehicle, and I started the race with a sense of a new era. Perhaps it was a problem with the organizers, or perhaps the fast-paced vehicles were late getting started, so we had to avoid them on the course several times and let them go ahead of us, which I think cost us some time. Anyway, it was a good first day.

Yuji Mochizuki

We were not able to fully use the potential of the new truck in the short SS, but we were able to feel the effect of the hybrid assist in the actual race. We still have a lot of work to do, but I would like to continue to improve the truck.

Hirokazu Somemiya

After competing in the Hail Rally in early December, I have continued to make adjustments in this region, so I am in perfect physical condition. I want to continue my error-free navigation so that I can run without any time loss. This is the third year that I have been working with Teruhito and Mochizuki, and we make a good team.

Teruhito Sugawara, Hirokazu Somemiya, and Yuji Mochizuki waving on the podium.

Teruhito Sugawara responds to cheers.