Hino Team Sugawara’s Car 2 finished at 9th Place overall even though organizers were forced to cancel the second half of the Stage 5 SS due to heavy downpours and flooding that seriously affected the terrain.
January 6’s itinerary took contestants 219km from Tupiza to Oruro, Bolivia where teams raced an intermountain SS. After climbing to 4000m altitudes in the first half of the day, contestants raced in some areas that featured farm fields and sandy field ridges. Heavy downpours began in the afternoon, turning the ground into a mud field and bogging down numerous vehicles.
Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura in Car 2 continued to maintain their cool, driving error-free in areas that were particularly challenging for navigation and allowing them to cinch a ranking in the top ten groups for the first time in this year’s rally.
“This was a risky SS as the rain made the surfaces quite slippery. I think our good performance comes from a combination of two factors: We are driving a better truck, and navigation is more difficult this year,” said Teruhito Sugawara regarding the day’s conditions.
Car 1 piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi delivered a solid performance and finished 38th overall in the SS. Based on these results, Car 2 boosted its accumulated ranking as of Jan. 6 to 12th place (preliminary), and Car 1 was at 32nd. The team continues to maintain its 1-2 standing in the Under 10-litre Class.
Due to rain, January 7’s stage will be shortened and start times pushed back by two hours. CP4 will be the new finish line for the day, and from there, contestants will take a paved liaison route to La Paz.