On January 12th, a 483km SS (Special Stage) was held on a loop course based in Wadi Ad-Dawasir, a town in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Hino Team Sugawara (Teruhito Sugawara/Hirokazu Somemiya/Yuji Mochizuki crew), competing in the Truck Class of the four-wheel category with the HINO600 series, finished in 93rd place overall in the four-wheel division and 10th place in the Truck Class. They maintained 8th place in class with 85th place overall in the four-wheel division.

The SS took place south of Wadi Ad-Dawasir. It featured diverse terrain typical of the desert region in southwestern Saudi Arabia, with sandy ruts and sand dunes of moderate difficulty appearing in the early stages. Subsequently, sandy terrain and rocky sections appeared one after another, with rough roads passing through massive canyons creating a dynamically scenic course.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA maintained a pace comparable to their larger vehicle rivals while frequently using the L-range of the sub-transmission in the dunes. They proceeded cautiously regarding the risk of punctures on surfaces where stones were hidden in the sand and in rocky sections, and although there was an incident where the side of the vehicle made contact with a standing tree, they arrived at the goal safely before sunset without any trouble.

On the 13th, the first day of the marathon stage begins, taking two days to travel from Wadi Ad-Dawasir to Bisha. After running a 410km SS, they will stay at a simple bivouac called "REFUGE" exclusively for participants. Like the marathon section in the first half, the setup requires completing two stages without mechanic support or parts supply from the team, and with tough course settings also anticipated, it appears to be one of the difficult challenges in the second half. On the evening of the 12th, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA will perform the second preventive replacement of the rear leaf springs during maintenance, as well as conduct thorough inspections of all parts to ensure perfect preparation for the grueling marathon stage.

Teruhito Sugawara
Although the distance was long, it was basically a high-speed SS. The route deliberately went into the mountains, and it was bothersome having trees hit the mirrors and body sides. Sand dunes appeared as well, but in the current Dakar, with the improved level of competition vehicles, there are no extremely difficult ones.

Hirokazu Somemiya
I got tired of talking from giving loud instructions continuously all day. When hitting standing trees, they always come to the navigator's side rather than the driver's side - that's a rally tradition. The roadbook has some questionable parts in the modified sections, so I want to be careful.

Yuji Mochizuki
Today the road surface varied from sand to rock, so I ran while operating the tire pressure adjustment device. In tonight's maintenance, I also requested measures for the side mirrors that get damaged by standing trees. I'm monitoring the temperatures of the engine, drivetrain, and various parts of the vehicle, and everything is generally going well.

*Rankings are provisional as of 4:00 AM on the 13th.