Hino Staff Sugawara will intention for his or her thirty-third accomplished Dakar Rally in a row in 2024. The lone Japanese producer to compete within the T5 class for vans will retain their Hino 600 hybrid truck that they used within the 2023 version, although with varied reliability upgrades. Staff director Teruhito Sugawara will drive as he has finished since 2005.
The staff almost missed the 2023 race, which might have snapped a streak of begins relationship again to 1991, when their guardian firm Hino Motors was marred by a falsified emissions scandal that ruined its picture within the Japanese motoring realm. Regardless of uncertainty that led to months of silence, the staff ultimately dedicated to the Dakar.
The Rally started on an inauspicious observe when issues with the gas system within the Prologue relegated them to the again, adopted by two days affected by tyre punctures and electrical points. They ran as excessive as eighth on the midway mark however rising water temperatures, a broken gas line, and even an accident compelled them to accept tenth at school.
“Regardless of the extraordinarily tough circumstances surrounding Hino Motors on the time, we have been capable of proceed our participation within the 2023 occasion with the assist and encouragement of many individuals,” mentioned Sugawara. “As soon as once more, I wish to prolong my heartfelt gratitude to everybody on behalf of the staff.
“The 2024 occasion, which is able to take us into the deepest elements of the Empty Quarter—typically described because the ‘Desert of Demise’—shall be extra gruelling than ever earlier than and face us with dramatically larger levels of issue. In opposition to this backdrop, we invite you to anticipate nice issues as we’re steadily getting ready for the 2024 occasion working with the event employees at Hino Motors, aiming for a truck that isn’t solely quicker but in addition more durable and stronger than ever to surpass our 2023 outcomes.
The 2024 challenger encompasses a four-stroke, straight-six diesel engine able to 800 PS (789.05 horsepower). It’s a four-wheel-drive with a six-gear transmission, and weighs in at 8,290 kilograms. The 600 additionally encompasses a new livery impressed by kumadori, a kind of make-up utilized in Japanese kabuki theatre.
In Might, the staff recruited Takeshi Fukuta and Akinobu Saito from Aichi Hino Motor and Tochigi Hino Motor, respectively, to function mechanics for the Dakar. Improvement of the truck befell over the summer time and fall, culminating within the engine being put in by early October.
Sugawara’s greatest profession end is a sixth in 2018. His father Yoshimasa holds the document for many consecutive Dakar Rallies accomplished with thirty-six, whereas Teruhito made his Dakar début as his co-driver in 1999.
The 2024 Dakar Rally begins on 5 January.
