Hino Team Sugawara has rewritten the history books by claiming a record eighth successive class victory in the 2017 Dakar Rally.
Not only did the team take home the top prize in the Under 10-litre Class, they also finished 1-2 in the category and clinched their 26th consecutive finish in the gruelling endurance event.
The father and son drivers Yoshimasa Sugawara and Teruhito, along with navigators Mitsugu Takahashi and Hiroyuki Sugiura, crossed the finish line in 29th and 8th overall respectively in the truck category.
Masakazu Ichikawa, Chairman of the Board of Hino Motors said he was very pleased with the results Hino Team Sugawara achieved.
“We have been supporting the team all the while, and Mr. Teruhito's single-digit finish in the category was truly admirable.
“Mr. Yoshimasa did very well too. I am very happy of these results,” Ichikawa said.
While course navigation proved problematic for many competitors, that didn’t bother winning driver T. Sugawara who said newly upgraded trucks and hard work was the key to success.
“I'm glad that we were able to finish in 8th position overall. Besides the fact that our trucks have been vastly upgraded, I think the fact that there were many cancelled stages and navigation was difficult this year worked to our advantage.
“That said, this outcome was not a fluke but the result of our hard work.
“We are looking to upgrading our trucks even more for the next rally,” T. Sugawara said.
Seventy-five-year-old Y. Sugawara, the oldest competitor to compete in this year’s Dakar, showed he can still mix it with the top competitors by taking part for a record 34th consecutive time.
“We raced as we had planned and were able to win with a 1-2 finish. I'm very happy with Teruhito's finish in 8th place overall.
“I am still full of energy. Thank you very much for your support,” Y. Sugawara said.
With substantial engine and suspension upgrades to the Hino 500 Series trucks, the duo were strong and consistence from the outset.
Throughout the opening stages Car 2 delivered performances that equalled that of their larger rivals.
Mother Nature forced organisers to shorten and cancel a number of stages over the two-week event, the adverse weather ending the race for many entries. However, Hino Team Sugawara steadily persisted and advanced their rankings in the overall truck category.
Hino Team Sugawara raced a modified 4x4 rally version of the current medium-duty Hino 500 Series truck. Hino Australia will be launching the all new Hino 500 Series Wide Cab in the first quarter of 2017.