January 9th was the final day of the first half. A 326km competition was held between Hail and Riyadh, and Dakar Rally 2026 arrived at the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. The SS on this day was the first full-scale sand dune stage of the rally, but HINO TEAM SUGAWARA (Teruhito Sugawara/Hirokazu Somemiya/Yuji Mochizuki crew) completed it smoothly, taking advantage of the mobility of the HINO600 series. They finished in 105th place overall in the four-wheel vehicle category/9th place in the truck class, and concluded the first half maintaining their cumulative position at 91st overall and 8th in the same class.

The SS started from a hill heading east with a 322km liaison (transfer section) from the Hail bivouac. The course was mostly sand dunes, and while the difficulty level was not particularly high, the sand was heavy and there were sections where it was difficult to increase pace. For this rally, the HINO600 had its final reduction ratio changed to a higher gear ratio with the aim of widening the vehicle speed range of the sub-transmission's L range, and this modification proved effective as they continued driving smoothly. However, they had to slow down as sunset came about 50km before the goal. This resulted in a larger time gap with the top teams who were able to finish while it was still light.

After the goal, they ran another 267km liaison to Riyadh. The total travel distance for the day was a long 915km, and HINO Team Sugawara arrived at the bivouac set up in the suburbs past 10:30 PM. Tomorrow, the 10th, they will have a rest day in the same location and perform a thorough refresh of the vehicle in preparation for the second half.

Teruhito Sugawara
It was a sand dune where, while not difficult, the average vehicle speed didn't increase. It's unfortunate that it got dark before the goal, but overall there were no troubles and everything went smoothly. Both the vehicle and the people were able to finish the first half without problems, so we will thoroughly prepare for the second half.

Hirokazu Somemiya
Today I got a sore neck from being shaken around. Navigation in the sand dunes was as usual. Taking detours throws off the distance, but I gave instructions while thinking through the correct answer in my head, and we were able to get the GPS points without any mistakes. I'm anticipating that the course in the second half will become more difficult.

Yuji Mochizuki
No troubles and no punctures again today. When I used the L range on the first sand dune stage, the transfer oil temperature rose, and for a moment the memory of the previous trouble came back, but I was relieved that it was a normal temperature increase due to the sub-transmission. The L range gave the impression that its usability has further improved with the gear ratio review.