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The official Hino Motors rally team looks set to continue its record-winning run at the 2012 Dakar Rally in South America with the addition of an all-new truck to the team.
HINO and team Sugawara will race with a team of two Hino 500 Series trucks in the rally to be held from 1 to 15 January 2012 - with the aim to once again claim line-honours in the prestigious under 10-litre truck class.
Hino has won this class 11 times and holds the record for the most consecutive race finishes - notching up its 20th race completion in 2011.
Hino divisional manager product strategy, marketing and dealer development, Alex Stewart said the local Australian division had played a special part in the development of the all-new 500 Series truck entering the race this year.
"Prior to its transformation into race-spec the base 500 Series truck had been assigned to Australia as a unique four-wheel drive test model," Mr Stewart said.
"Australia is an important market for Hino globally, and the company values the input of the Australian team when it comes to the development of new models and technologies.
"Hino's GT model 4x4 500 Series trucks are particularly popular in Australia, which led to the arrival of the test model earlier in the year.
"A number of new medium-duty truck technologies were installed and tested on the vehicle, including an uprated engine, ABS braking and four-wheel drive-specific limited slip differential - many of which we'll see as production items in the near future," he said.
Father and son team Yoshimasa and Teruhito Sugawara will be the lead drivers of the number one and number two trucks, with Hiroyuki Sugiura and Seiichi Suzuki their respective co-drivers.
Yoshimasa is a renowned and revered off-road racing identity. Known as 'Iron Man', he celebrated his 70th birthday in 2011.
Field testing of both trucks at Rally Mongolia in mid-2011 has proven their worth, with the team now aiming for class honours as well as a top-five position across the expanding truck categories.
The Dakar Rally, formerly known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, began in 1979 as a specialist off-road racing event organised by the French Amaury Sport Organisation.
The race traditionally ran from Paris to Dakar in Senegal, until civil unrest and ongoing safety concerns led to the cancellation of the 2008 event.
The race moved to South America in 2009, where it remains for 2012.
The 2012 course has been described as one of the toughest yet, with teams traversing Argentina, Chile and Peru in South America over 15 days and nights.
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