Hino and Team Sugawara have continued to make motorsport history with its sixth successive under 10-litre class victory at the 2015 Dakar Rally.
Father and son team drivers Yoshimasa and Teruhito Sugawara came in second and first positions (respectively) in class at the gruelling event for the second year running.
Their results placed Teruhito in 16th and Yoshimasa 32nd overall for trucks, from a field of 43.
Seventy-three-year-old Yoshimasa Sugawara is continuing to make records of his own, with a total of 33 consecutive Dakar entries. Yoshimasa remains the oldest competitor at the Dakar.
This year the Dakar covered 9,000 kilometres over 13 stages across Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, presenting a range of terrain including sand dunes, harsh deserts and mountains.
In addition to testing driver skills and team participation, the Dakar puts vehicle components to the test and is now an important part of Hino's product testing regime which aims to give its trucks the best possible quality, durability and reliability characteristics.
The team's two trucks, both loosely based on the medium duty Hino 500 Series, use an 8.9-litre engine with Hino's direct injection system, which was proven at last year's Dakar.
Both trucks received a completely new suspension system which has helped them get power to the ground more effectively.
Hino Team Sugawara was put to the test early in the rally, with a stone damaging the radiator of Teruhito's truck during stage 2.
It was able to continue the race with coolant replenishments and support from Yoshimasa's truck despite temperatures of up to 41 degrees during the stage from Villa Carlos Paz to San Juan in Argentina.
Team Sugawara took first and second positions in the under-10 litre category in stage 3, where it remained for the following 10 stages.
Teruhito Sugawara sees bigger things on the horizon at next year's Dakar.
"Compared to races up to last year where we've been just pushing our trucks to the limit, I think we've taken a huge step forward in that the truck feels like it can do more, and that there is more room for performance upgrades," Teruhito said.
"This was a meaningful race that gave us hope for the future."
Yoshimasa said that he was relieved that the expected results had been delivered.
"I was in good physical condition and was able to drive comfortably despite the fact that I'm a year older now," Yoshimasa said.
"I think the upgrades to the truck as well as the training I've been doing has had an effect."