-Team Aims for 5th Straight Championship in the Under 10-litre Class -

Hino Motors, Ltd. (Hino) will be working with Team Sugawara led by Yoshimasa Sugawara to enter two of its HINO500 Series trucks as HINO TEAM SUGAWARA in Dakar Rally 2014, which is scheduled to kick off at Rosario, Argentina on January 5, 2014.

Hino has been developing new racing trucks over a period of 3 years since 2012 with the goal of achieving high rankings in the Trucks category. Dakar Rally 2014 will be the team's third and culminating year of this project. In the previous race, Car 1 became the team's first truck to be mounted with an electronically controlled (common rail) J08C engine. This truck, which has received further upgrades to its output and reliability as Car 2 for the 2014 race, will be driven by Teruhito Sugawara, who is aiming for his 5th straight championship in the Under 10-litre Class and high rankings in the Trucks category.

With a firm eye on how the race is increasingly becoming a high-speed race, Car 1 for the next race is now equipped with an A09C engine, which boasts a larger displacement than the J08C engine mounted on Car 2. The use of a 9-liter engine will be a first for Hino in the Dakar Rally. Dakar Rally 2014 will be the first ever race for this truck, which will be driven by Yoshimasa Sugawara, who holds the Guinness Record for 30 consecutive entries in the Dakar Rally.

As has been customary over the years, the mechanics who support the team during the race have been screened from among many applicants from Hino dealerships nationwide. This year's roster of four includes one mechanic each from Higashi-Hokkaido Hino Motors, Yokohama Hino Motors, and Shiga Hino Motors, as well as one mechanic from the Vehicle Planning & Production Engineering Div. at Hino Motors. In addition to these mechanics, one engineer will be joining the team for the first time this year from the Engine Engineering Div., Hino Motors to create a bullet-proof team with the capability of prevailing in battles that are being fought on the electronic tuning front; battles that have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years.

HINO is committed to its ongoing involvement in the world's top race, and to share heart-stopping moments with customers and motor sport fans around the world, as well as build the HINO brand.

1. Team organization

HINO500 Series trucks that were entered in the Dakar Rally 2013 (Left: Car 1, Right: Car 2)

(Reference)

1. About Dakar Rally 2014

This will be the sixth year for the Dakar Rally to be held in South America. The 2014 race will be held in 3 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. Only the Bikes and Quads divisions will be transiting through Bolivia.
The race will kick off on January 5, 2014 in Argentina, taking the contestants over a course of approximately 10,000km over a period of 14 days, and finish in Chile on January 18.
 

2. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA

In 1991, HINO became the first Japanese truck maker to enter the Dakar Rally. And ever since, HINO has finished in all 21 Dakar races in which it has taken part - a race that is considered to be the most grueling in the world. For example, in one particular race, only 20.5% of the contestants were able to finish; a record low for any race. HINO won second place overall in the camion (truck) category in 1994 and was runner-up in 1995 as well. In 1997, HINO surprised the world, becoming the first team to make a 1-2-3 sweep in the camion category. Since then, HINO has been runner-up for 3 years and is till going strong as one of the top teams in the category. Additionally, HINO won for 7 consecutive years (1996-2002) in the category's 10-litre or smaller class. While this class was abolished thereafter for two years, after being reinstated in 2005, HINO won in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Result

Over all Trucks Division: Winner 1 time(1997), 2nd 5 times(1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2005)
Under 10-liter Category: Winner 13 times of 14 reces in this category