Hino Motors to Enter Dakar Rally 2025

Others

Aug 5, 2024

　Hino Motors, Ltd. (Head office: Hino, Tokyo; President: Satoshi Ogiso. Hereinafter "Hino") will be competing as "HINO TEAM SUGAWARA" (Director: Teruhito Sugawara, General Manager: Satoshi Ogiso) in the Dakar Rally 2025 to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 3rd to 17th, 2025.

　The truck we will be entering in the 2025 rally is based on the truck that raced in the 2024 event (HINO600 series), and will come with upgrades including new piping routes around the engine, improved rigidity of parts, and strength enhancements to the automatic transmission's clutch plates.
　In addition, to ensure the thoroughness of our preventive maintenance, we have defined replacement cycles for transfers, suspensions and other components based on their expected usage conditions. We will also be revamping our maintenance system to keep time consuming and labor intensive maintenance tasks from overlapping.

　In July, a selection meeting for mechanics from dealerships across the country was held, and three mechanics selected from public applications were chosen to join the team: Soichiro Kashiwaya from Aomori Hino Motors, Soken Sho from Minami Kanto Hino Motors, and Chifumi Uehara from Nagano Hino Motors.
　Additionally, as part of our effort to have Hino employees participate in the Dakar Rally as mechanics, four employees were selected from within the company to assist in the fabrication of the racing truck.

　In what is said to be "the world's most grueling rally," Hino aims to hone its comprehensive quality (total support quality × product quality) as stated in "Ideal State" We will be taking on the challenge of the 34th Dakar Rally with the aim of building vehicles with excellent QDR * that support our customers' businesses, and achieving further growth and success for all parties involved in our rally efforts.

* Quality, Durability, and Reliability

■ Team Director and Driver: Teruhito Sugawara
Hino Motors made its 33rd finish in the race and finished at 6th place overall in the 2024 event thanks to the support we received, especially from our sponsoring companies. I would like to thank everyone again on behalf of the team. Although the environment we operate in remains challenging, we are committed to continue to work together as a team in ours preparations to build a faster, more reliable truck and a stronger team. Please also keep an eye on what we do here at Hino Team Sugawara leading up to the rally.

■Mechanic: Soichiro Kashiwaya, Aomori Hino Motors
I learned about the Dakar Rally when I first joined the company. My strong desire to make the team one day is what spurred me to take on this challenge. I was actually surprised by the results to be honest. While I do feel some pressure since I will essentially be representing our dealership, I'm going to give it my all to utilize the knowledge and skills I have cultivated over the years, and contribute to extending the team's streak of consecutive finishes in the rally, and at a high ranking at that.

■ Mechanic: Soken Sho, Minami Kanto Hino Motors
I am honored to have been selected as a mechanic for the Dakar Rally. I want to play a part in bringing the team together in our efforts, finishing the race, and achieving the best possible results. I believe the next six months will be a very valuable, meaningful, and completely new experience for me.
I would like to absorb as much as I can from this experience, and utilize the knowledge and experience I gain from the Dakar Rally in my future work so that I can contribute to my company.

■ Mechanic: Chifumi Uehara, Nagano Hino Motors
I am very honored to have been selected as a Dakar Rally mechanic, which has been a long-held goal of mine. I will do my best to contribute to the team without ever forgetting my gratitude to everyone at work, my family, and my colleagues who essentially fought beside me in the screening process.