On January 3, Dakar 2025 held its prologue run near Bisha in western Saudi Arabia. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's HINO 600 Series finished 135th overall in the 4-wheel category and 15th in the truck category, 2 minutes 35 seconds behind the leader.

The route for this day's race was to determine the order in which the contestants would compete in the first stage on the 4th, and the running times were not reflected in the results.A total of 335 cars competed in the event, including 134 in the two-wheel division that passed inspection, 64 in the four-wheel Ultimate (modified) division, 2 in the Stock (commercially available) division, 52 in the Challenger (prototype small buggy) division, 39 in the SSV (commercially available small buggy) division, and 44 in the Truck division.

The loop course, which started at a liaison point 26 km to the south of the bivouac, was short at 29 km and consisted mainly of sandy off-road terrain. However, there were trees and many areas were dug up by the cars ahead of the trucks when they started out, creating a course that kept the teams on their toes. The Hino team kept a careful pace, paying attention to punctures, and completed the race without any problems.

After the goal, the participants returned to the bivouac for a 22-km liaison and then went directly to the start ceremony. The Hino team shook hands firmly on the podium with Makoto Wakimura, CTO of Hino Motors, who had come from Japan to offer encouragement.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA will enter this year's race for the first time since the 2020 race, with team leader Teruhito Sugawara as driver, Hirokazu Somemiya as navigator, and Yuji Mochizuki (Hino Motors employee) as riding mechanic. The support team, consisting of staff from Hino Motors and Japan Racing Management, will be accompanied by three mechanics dispatched by dealers, including three selected mechanics: Soichiro Kashiwadani (Aomori Hino Motors), Shao Sang-Kwon (Minamikanto Hino Motors), and Tomofumi Uehara (Nagano Hino Motors),.

The team arrived in Saudi Arabia in mid-December and has been making final adjustments at the Jeddah branch of TJT, which handles Hino trucks there, and participated in the Jeddah Rally on December 20 and 21 as a pre-test to confirm the vehicle's finish, the equipment to be operated by the crew while driving, and the division of roles. The HINO 600 Series, the vehicle entered in the rally, has been upgraded with a 16PS increase in maximum engine output, and the entire truck has been freshened up to comply with the technical regulations that will be applied from this year's rally, including the exhaust pipe routing. As a result, the vehicle passed the inspection on January 1 without any major problems. Preparation work progressed smoothly, and after the prologue run, the teams were fully prepared for the full-scale competition starting on January 4.

On the 4th, the first stage of the competition will be a 412-km loop course starting from Bisha.

Makoto Wakimura
Remember that you are carrying the thoughts and feelings of many people on your shoulders, and I hope you will fight as hard as you can without giving up until the end. I am rooting for you!

Teruhito Sugawara
We have received generous support for this rally from Hino Motors dealerships nationwide, along with our corporate sponsors. The number of mechanics dispatched by dealerships was increased from two to three, and I am grateful for their heartfelt support. Thanks to everyone's hard work, preparations are going well. We will continue to drive without mistakes in the competition starting tomorrow, and hope to bring out the full potential of the competition cars to achieve even better results than in the previous competition. Today's prologue was short and uneventful, but I think it will be reasonably difficult from the first stage.

Hirokazu Somemiya
For safety reasons, it appears that in some of the competition sections in this year's event, the trucks will take a different route than the 2- and 4-wheel divisions. I am not sure how this will affect the competition, but I will do my best to improve my navigation accuracy and run without loss. The prologue run was a short but busy course here and there.

Yuji Mochizuki
This car is reaching the point of maturity, and we are now able to drive as well as our rivals. As a mechanic on board, I want to contribute to a good performance by reducing the time we have to stop for trouble as much as possible. Of course, we had no trouble today.

Takayuki Monma
I am relieved that we got off to a good start. I will do my best starting tomorrow so that we can achieve good results.

Seiichi Suzuki
In addition to increasing the maximum output of the engine, this year's truck has undergone a number of minor improvements, such as making sure the fuel lines, which caused problems last time, have been properly addressed and the exhaust pipe has been placed above the cargo bed to comply with new technical regulations. The automatic transmission, which was used in the low range a lot last time, has been overhauled and confirmed to have no problem at all, including the friction parts. I hope the car will run trouble-free until the end.

Koji Yoshikawa
The vehicle is doing well after completing the prologue run without incident. We hope to maintain this situation in the competition starting tomorrow, and hope to reach the goal without any major problems as we did in the previous round.

Soichiro Kashiwaya
I was the first mechanic from Aomori Hino to be dispatched to Dakar as a mechanic from a sales company. It was refreshing to be able to be involved from the vehicle manufacturing stage. I believe that if we can all communicate with each other and enjoy working together, the car will run well in the race.

Souken Sho
I came to Japan as an international student from Jilin Province, China, and joined Tokyo Hino in 2013. My participation in the Dakar was prompted by my supervisor, but I enjoy working in the field. I want to keep myself in good physical condition and take on various challenges.

Satoshi Uehara
Hino Motors' involvement in the Dakar Rally was a deciding factor in my decision to work for Nagano Hino. I am also thankful to the workplace that was willing to send me out this time. I would like to make the most of my road service experience and fulfill my assigned role.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA inspecting equipment.

Yuji Mochizuki sticking a rally plate.

Hirokazu Somemiya, Teruhito Sugawara, and Yuji Mochizuki (from left) ,They vowed to strenuous efforts.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA cheers up with the shout of Makoto Wakimura CTO.