Hino Motors : Dakar Rally 2024 is Just Around the Corner!

　Hino Motor, Ltd. will be participating in the Dakar Rally 2024 to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 5 to 19, 2024 as "HINO TEAM SUGAWARA." Hino Motor will take on the challenge of its 33rd Dakar Rally in an effort to create trucks that excel in QDR* and achieve further growth and success of its people, as stated in "Hino's Vision."
* Quality, Durability, Reliability

　For the 2024 event, the team has developed a truck based on a bonnet truck (HINO600 Series) with improvements to further enhance reliability and exhaustively eliminate any risks that may cause lost time to keep the truck performing strong and aim for higher positions. In particular, the team has made improvements to the cooling efficiency of its truck's engine head which was the main cause of the frequent engine cooling system failures experienced in Dakar Rally 2023, in addition to taking measures to counter other potential problems.

Mitsuru Enomoto, Head of Development, Dakar Challenge Group, Technical Research Center
"We believe that the Dakar Rally is the ultimate stage where we can truly demonstrate 'total support' which is what keeps our customers' vehicles up and running. In order to enable team members to perform at the highest levels, we introduced an air-conditioned trailerhomes for the Dakar Rally 2024, providing an environment where team members can rest well out of the wind and rain. I'm sure that members will realize how being well-prepared leads to better results."

　Yuji Mochizuki, who will be joining the team for the fifth time as an employee-racer, will be riding the truck as a member of the racing crew.

Navigator and Mechanic, Yuji Mochizuki
"We won't have any problems with teamwork because the three of us, driver Sugawara, navigator Somemiya, and myself, have raced together in past Dakar Rallies. That being said, there will be a good percentage of people who are going to be on the team for the first time as the company has resumed selecting mechanics from Hino dealerships. I would like to lead these people with my experience and also take advantage of this opportunity as a way of achieving my own growth. You never know what's going happen during races, so beyond my role as navigator, I'm going to make sure, as the crew mechanic, that we reliably hand over whatever needs to be done to mechanics waiting for us at the bivouac."

　This year, the company has resumed the selection of mechanics from Hino Motor dealerships nationwide. Two mechanics--Akinobu Saito from Tochigi Hino Motor, and Tsuyoshi Fukuda from Aichi Hino Motor--were chosen in an open competition to join the team.

Akinobu Saito, Mechanic, Tochigi Hino Motor
"I joined the team in July and have since been involved in truck fabrication. We were forced to deal with a variety of problems, large and small, in the Jeddah Rally, the warm-up race held from December 14 to 16, but I found myself excited every time we did. I hope to enjoy myself and work efficiently in the Dakar Rally as well. I would like to further improve our teamwork and make sure in our service work that each component is able to fulfill the functions they were designed for.
The race is just around the corner, and there are still a lot of things I need to learn, but I will do my best to make sure I don't leave anything unfinished."

Tsuyoshi Fukuda, Mechanic, Aichi Hino Motor
"The Jeddah Rally reaffirmed for me the importance of working together as a team and the importance of being flexible in dealing with situations. This will be my first time on the Dakar Rally team, so I am a bit anxious, but regardless of what condition the truck comes back in at the bivouac, I want for us to work as a team to make sure the truck is ready to race the next morning and aim for top positions.
I also want to bring the experience I gain from the Dakar Rally back to my dealership and teach younger people about the importance of never giving up."

　Please make sure to visit the team's social media outletsand the official Hino website for the latest news on the Dakar Rallyand up-to-date information. Thank you very much for your support.

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