Hino Team Sugawara aims to strengthen truck for 2025 Dakar Rally

Hino Team Sugawara might not be the fastest truck at the Dakar Rally, but they sure know how to be reliable. The Japanese manufacturer has had at least one of their trucks reach the finish every year since their début in 1991, a streak that extended to thirty-three in a row (recall the 2008 race was cancelled) when Teruhito Sugawara finished a career-best sixth in class at the latest edition in January.

Sugawara’s Hino 600 is a truck with a four-stroke, straight-six diesel engine that produces 789.05 horsepower. It was originally supposed to feature a 400-kilogram hybrid system but the team was unable to install it as the FIA requires such vehicles to be in the Mission 1000 class. Without hybrid power, the team had to switch to a higher gear ratio that provided more acceleration, albeit at the cost of fuel efficiency.

After a relatively calm start to the 2024 rally, the six-speed transmission started to slip during the third stage but the team managed to keep it together by racing conservatively the next day until it was shortened for trucks for safety reasons. The Hino survived the first day of the 48-hour Chrono Stage before losing five hours to damaged fuel line on the second, which forced Sugawara, co-driver Hirokazu Somemiya, and mechanic Yuji Mochizuki to funnel gas into the tank while the truck was tilted. They eventually finished the rally without further issue, with Sugawara’s best finish being a sixth in Stage #6.

“Hino Motors was able to complete thirty-three consecutive races and place sixth overall in the 2024 race thanks to the support of many people, especially the sponsors,” said Sugawara. “On behalf of the team, I would like to express my gratitude once again. Although the environment around us is tough, we will continue to work together as a team to prepare a faster, more reliable truck and a stronger team.”

The truck returned to Japan in June. The team’s main focus as they prepare for the 2025 race is on updating the piping surrounding the engine as well as improving the transmission’s clutch plate strength. They also hope to make more durable parts, along with revising the production and maintenance cycles to better expedite the replacement process.

In July, the team launched a recruiting drive to bring mechanics from Hino dealerships across Japan onboard. They ultimate selected Soichiro Kashiwatani from Aomori Hino Motors, Shao Sangon of South Kanto, and Satoshi Uehara from Nagano.

Hino has raced the Dakar annually for over three decades. P. Josseau finished seventh in their maiden Dakar in 1991 as part of a four-truck effort before they brought on Yoshimasa Sugawara, a former Honda bike rider and Mitsubishi driver, for the 1992 edition onwards. Sugawara proved to be a model of consistency as he ran the next twenty-seven Dakars for Hino with seven podium finishes, sixth being seconds; he holds the record for the most Dakar Rallies started in a row with thirty-six. His son Teruhito joined the programme in 1999 as a co-driver and assistance truck pilot before becoming a competition driver himself in 2005. Even when the elder Sugawara suffered his lone retirement in 2010, Teruhito continued Hino’s finish streak by placing seventh.

The 2025 Dakar Rally is scheduled for 3–17 January.