Hino Team Sugawara’s preparations for the 2014 Dakar Rally continued with an impressive performance at the recently concluded Rally Mongolia 2013. After a strong start, the Hino 500 Series truck finished the 3000-kilometre race in third place in the four-wheel division.
“There were three points that we wanted to verify in this rally: the truck's mobility gained from its higher engine output, suspension settings, and improvements in the truck's terrain traversing performance gained from changes made to tyre specs,” said driver Teruhito Sugawara.
“We noticed these effects in a variety of situations, and got a good feel for the truck’s improved performance … it was truly a great accomplishment for the team to reduce our time by nearly 10 per cent.”
Team Sugawara will attempt a fifth consecutive Dakar Under 10-litre class win for the Hino 500 Series at the 2014 Dakar Rally.