Lucky seven for Hino

The world’s most resilient truck rally team has succeeded in claiming its seventh successive class victory in the 2016 Dakar Rally.

Hino Team Sugawara claimed title honours in the Under 10-litre truck class of the 9,200km 15-day event run through the Andes Mountains and deserts of Argentina and Bolivia.

2016 marks the 25th year Hino has entered a vehicle in the race, and it was the only Japanese manufacturer to enter in this year’s rally.

Hino Motors chairman Masakazu Ichikawa flew to South America from Japan and praised the team for its continued success.

“I’d like to acknowledge the team for delivering a solid performance this year again. I’m very grateful to the entire team and for all the support that we’ve received,” he said.

At 74, and with a record 33 consecutive Dakar entries, Yoshimasa Sugawara was the oldest Dakar Rally participant. His son, team-mate and class champion, Teruhito Sugawara, is optimistic about Hino’s future at Dakar.

“This was the 25th anniversary of Hino Motors’ first entry in the Dakar Rally, so I took that to heart as we raced. The truck upgrades that we made have had a definite impact and I feel that we’ve got our rivals by their tails now,” he said.

“We know what we need to do next, so I think this was a great race also in terms of development going forward.”

Both Hino Team Sugawara entries improved on last year’s results.

Truck 2, driven by Teruhito Sugawara and navigated by Hiroyuki Sugiura, finished three places higher than 2015 in 13th place while Truck 1, driven by Dakar veteran Yoshimasa and navigated by Mitsugu Takahashi, improved by one place after finishing 31st in the overall truck category.

Key specifications of the two 2016 Dakar Rally Hino trucks include the 8,866cm3 direct-injection turbocharged and intercooled engine matched to a six-speed direct-drive gearbox with secondary transmission, two-speed transfer