Day 7

Car 2 finishes the loop SS-set at an average elevation of 3500m―in 19th place.
January 6: This day, contestants raced on a 419km loop course that was based out of San Salvador Jujuy in northern Argentina. This SS, which was set in the intermountain areas near the Bolivian border, has been used a number of times in previous races. At an average elevation of 3500m and peaked out at 4100m, this was the first full-blown highland stage for this year’s race. For the next several days, contestants will be racing at high elevations, and on January 7, when teams travel to Uyuni in Bolivia, they will be passing through the highest point in this year’s rally at 4700m.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA’s HINO500 Series trucks leveraged their excellent mobility and did very well in this SS. Car 2 piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura finished at 19th overall and top in the Under 10-litre Class. Car 1 crewed by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi also did very well finishing at 30th overall and 2nd in the class. This marked the team’s first one-two class finish in this year’s rally.

This day was designated a marathon stage, which meant that vehicles were not allowed to receive servicing from their assistance crews at the bivouac (Assistance crews had already departed for Bolivia, and will be spending the night of the 6th at a special bivouac set up in Tarija, Bolivia).