Car 1 piloted by the Yoshimasa Sugawara_Mitsugu Takahashi crew
Tackling a full-blown highland stage set in the Bolivian mountains, Car 2 finished with high rankings at 13th overall and top in the Under 10-litre Class. This staggering performance against altitude, navigation and terrain challenges brought Car 2’s accumulated standings as of January 5, to 14th overall and first in the Class in an impressive display of the HINO500 Series truck's potential.
Starting off in Jujuy, Argentina, contestants drove a total SS distance of 416km making the crossing into Bolivia. This demanding highland stage set traversed altitudes of between 3000m - 4000m+ where drivers faced mountain crossings, numerous rugged off-track areas, as well as soft dunes in hilly sandy terrain with grassy outcrops. Even rain and thin oxygen created difficulties on Day 5.
“Rain started to pour down when we were at the bottom of a dry river bed. And we were taken off guard when we saw a large river of water flowing our way,” said Car 1 pilot, Yoshimasa Sugawara. While Car 2 navigator, Hiroyuki Sugiura noted, “We had to run our oxygen enricher as we faced higher altitudes. There were a lot of trucks stopped on the course for one problem or another, perhaps due to the thin oxygen.”
Some difficulties in finding hidden GPS waypoints led to lags for Car 1 who finished the SS at 8:22pm at 34th place overall. The clock was past 9:00 pm by the time their truck arrived at the bivouac.
The next itinerary will take contestants through more rigorous highlands from Tupiza to Oruro for the 438km SS that promises another exciting rally run for Day 6.