The last hurdle, the empty quota, caused a drivetrain problem. He finished 14th in the cumulative standings (provisional) heading into the final stage on the 17th.
Jan 17, 2025
No.PD25-13

HINO600 is stuck.

Hino Team Sugawara waits for the arrival of HINO600 in the bivouac.
The 16th was the second day of a three-race dune stage series around Schweita. The 126km race was held in the sand dune area east of the bivouac.
On this day, different courses were set up for the two-wheeler, four-wheeler, and track divisions in a common area. The track division is shorter than the 308 km for the two-wheeled and 276 km for the four-wheeled (excluding the production division), but the difficulty made it a tough stage for the truck.
The journey begins with a liaison (moving section) and travels 200 km east on a paved road from the bivouac. From there, the SS (competition section) starts and heads west, meandering through the sand dunes on the south side of the pavement. After the SS finish, the ship rejoined the same paved road as the outward route and returned 111km west to return to the bivouac.
Hino Team Sugawara's HINO600 started smoothly on this stage, which was the last difficult stage of the race, and passed the 96km mark in sixth place in the track division. However, the transfer, which had undergone a difficult repair work the day before yesterday and was fully functional yesterday, broke down again 20 km from the finish. The car gets stuck at the top of the dune. It was a scene that unexpectedly reminded me of the harsh environment of Dakar.
After that, HINO600 took emergency measures on his own and headed to the finish line, but he was penalized because the SS took 15 hours and 45 minutes, which exceeded the maximum time of 6 and a half hours, and he finished 129th overall in the 4-wheel category and 15th in the track category.
As a result, the cumulative standings dropped to 99th overall in the four-wheeled standings and 14th in the truck category (all rankings are provisional).
As of 9:30 p.m. local time, HINO600 was stopped on the paved road of the liaison and was waiting for help. Mechanics headed out of the bivouac to tow with an assistance truck.
On the 17th, the final 61km race will be held in the dunes on the south side of the bivouac, followed by a finish ceremony on the podium inside the bivouac.

Mechanics worried about the condition of the competition car.

HINO600 runs on the Empty Quarter.

Suzuki, a mechanic advisor who prepares himself perfectly.

HINO600 over the dunes.

HINO600 continues to run after the sun goes down.