The second day of the marathon stage ran from the temporary bivouac "REFUGE" north of Bisha to Bisha. The 420km SS (Special Stage) set in this region became a major challenge of the rally, featuring an endless succession of technically demanding dunes with soft sand and steep descents.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's HINO 600 series (Teruhito Sugawara/Hirokazu Somemiya/Yuji Mochizuki crew) leveraged its high maneuverability to climb to 6th place in the truck class during the first half, but rolled over on a downhill dune slope around the 160km mark. While the vehicle speed was low and no crew members were injured, the truck came to rest mid-slope, requiring considerable time to right it. Recovery took approximately two hours, including checks of various components and emergency repairs to damaged parts.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA resumed racing and regained its previous pace, climbing back to 13th place by the 239km mark. They successfully cleared the dune section before sunset, and though they reduced their pace slightly after dark, they finished 135th overall in the four-wheel category and 15th in the truck class. After covering the 45km liaison section to reach the Bisha bivouac, they reunited with team staff who had traveled ahead the previous day. The mechanics immediately began repair work.

As a result of this day's performance, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's cumulative standings are 92nd overall in the four-wheel category and 9th in the truck class.

On the 15th, the route heads significantly northward from Bisha to Al Henakiyah. It will be a long 883km transfer with a 346km competitive section scheduled along the way.

*Rankings are provisional as of 4:00 AM JST on the 15th

Teruhito Sugawara
While descending diagonally down a dune slope, the front end dropped at the exact moment drive was disengaged during a gear change, causing the rollover. It's disappointing because we were making good progress through today's challenging dune stage. Fortunately, vehicle damage was minimal and we were able to continue without problems.

Hirokazu Somemiya
Today's navigation wasn't particularly different from previous days, but the final section where we had to adjust the vehicle's direction according to cap (bearing) and distance was very demanding due to extremely detailed cap instructions in the roadbook. More than anything, I was relieved that we managed to get through the dunes before sunset after the rollover.

Yuji Mochizuki
I'm glad the damage from the rollover was minimal. Even so, the inspection alone took about an hour, including replacing part of the melted air piping and checking whether engine oil had entered the cylinders. I was sitting in the center seat and my neck hurts a bit.

Takayuki Monma
The damage to the right rear body is extensive due to landing on the right side and being dragged during the recovery. Also, it appears a resin part near the exhaust manifold inside the rear body caught fire, melting part of the air hose. There are various other issues including cleaning switches in the cabin that got sand in them, but we'll have everything properly fixed by morning.