Success in Mongolia
Hino Team Sugawara prepares for the Dakar after a good outing in the Mongolia Rally
HINO Team Sugawara, the successful combination that continues to build an enviable record in the gruelling Dakar Rally, is making good progress with developing its latest racing truck as it prepares for the 2013 event in South America.
The team recently gave the allnew Hino racing truck a successful debut in the Mongolia Rally, finishing as the highest placed truck and 10th overall, beaten only by five motorcycles and four cars.
This year the Mongolia Rally, which many use to test their vehicles before the Dakar Rally, proved a bigger than usual challenge. Besides the extreme differences in daytime temperature one always encounters in Mongolia, there was a record-breaking rainfall that turned large areas of the Gobi Desert into marshes and rivers. The upshot was the cancellation of three of the seven timed special stages. There were 39 finishers out of an original field of 62.
The team used the event to focus on new developments on the latest racing truck, most importantly checking the reliability of the electronically controlled common rail fuel injection system that was fitted to a Hino truck for the first time.
The engine is the 8l Hino J08C-TI (turbo intercooled) and a target has been set to increase power output from 300hp to 450hp at 2,700r/min for the Dakar, with the torque boosted from 1,000Nm to 1,380Nm between 1,600 and 2,200r/min.
“None of our concerns about possible engine problems materialised, and we were also able to test changes we had made to the braking and suspension systems, as well as the design of the rear body,” said driver Teruhito Sugawara.
“The team made a change from an engine-driven fan to an electric one and we were delighted that cooling proved more than adequate. I believe the longer span leaf springs and greater chassis frame rigidity helped improve steering response and handling, as well as making the ride comfortable. The new Brembo disc brake system used for the rally exceeded our expectations.”
Yoshimasa Sugawara, the director of Hino Team Sugawara, who is now 71 years old and will again drive a Hino in the 2013 Dakar Rally, honed his driving skills in the Mongolia Rally driving a Suzuki Jimny. He won the class despite being submerged for the first time in his very long racing career due to rising water in the desert.
The team will be entering two four-wheel drive Hino 500 trucks in the 2013 Dakar Rally, which starts in Lima, Peru, on January 5 and traverses parts of Argentina before heading into Chile and the finish on January 20 in Santiago.