On January 16th, the 9th stage of the Dakar Rally 2024 was held from Ha'il in the north to Alula in the northwest.

Participants started with a 76km liaison (travel section) from the bivouac in Ha'il heading west into the mountainous area.After that, they faced a 436km SS (competition section), which was set to weave through the terrain.

The surface of the SS course was sandy soil and dunes in the early stages, then changed to gravel pistes and rocky areas with intense vibrations.Navigation was generally difficult, but HINO TEAM SUGAWARA 's HINO 600 series, piloted by Teruhito Sugawara, Hirokazu Somemiya, and Yuji Mochizuki, demonstrated its speed on this stage as well.

They continued to keep their position around 10th place without being overtaken by their large-vehicle rivals, and ended up finishing in 10th place, 47 minutes behind the first-place team in the trucks category.

As a result, they maintained 8th place in the cumulative standings, reducing the time difference to 7th place Claudio Bellina team (IVECO POWERSTAR) to 55 minutes.

After crossing the finish line, the team traveled a 149km liaison and arrived at the bivouac in Alula, the same location as the start camp.Makoto Wakimura, CTO of Hino Motors, arrived at the bivouac from Japan and encouraged the crew, mechanics, and staff.

Tomorrow, January 17th, a 371km competition will be held on a loop-shaped course based on Alula.

Makoto Wakimura, CTO:
When I visited the site, I saw the dignified expressions of the team members, and I thought they were reliable.
I think they are doing a great job.Although there were some minor problems, I believe that the production of this vehicle was a success.

Teruhito Sugawara:
In the beginning, there were some sand dunes with camel grass that were difficult to climb.
And in the second half, the section where the vehicle ran on black bedrock was a tough course with intense vibrations.There are three stages left, so I'll do my best to move up to 7th place.

Hirokazu Somemiya:
During the high-speed winding sections I was very busy with navigation.
In the rocky area towards the end, I couldn't see the ruts and it was difficult to find the correct route.The vibration made my head shake and it was painful.

Yuji Mochizuki:
The high-mounted tail lamp and rearview camera fell off along with the stay on the rickety course in the middle of the stage.
It was only when we arrived at the finish line that we realized we had lost them.
The vibrations were terrible, but in recent years, perhaps through training, they have become less unbearable for me.