October 18, 2013

Hino Motors to Enter Two HINO500 Series Trucks in Dakar Rally 2014


-Team Aims for 5th Straight Championship in the Under 10-litre Class –

Hino Motors, Ltd. (Hino) will be working with Team Sugawara led by Yoshimasa Sugawara to enter two of its HINO500 Series trucks as HINO TEAM SUGAWARA in Dakar Rally 2014, which is scheduled to kick off at Rosario, Argentina on January 5, 2014.

Hino has been developing new racing trucks over a period of 3 years since 2012 with the goal of achieving high rankings in the Trucks category. Dakar Rally 2014 will be the team’s third and culminating year of this project. In the previous race, Car 1 became the team’s first truck to be mounted with an electronically controlled (common rail) J08C engine. This truck, which has received further upgrades to its output and reliability as Car 2 for the 2014 race, will be driven by Teruhito Sugawara, who is aiming for his 5th straight championship in the Under 10-litre Class and high rankings in the Trucks category.