Day 9

Rally Crosses the Border into Chile, the Primary Arena of the Second Half.
Trucks cross the Andes Mountains and arrive at Calama in northern Chile.
January 13, Dakar Rally contestants raced from Salta, Argentina to Calama, Chile. The route first took them on a 522km liaison section that crossed the Andes Mountains and the Argentina-Chile border into Chile. This was followed by a 302km SS that took them to the bivouac in Calama. The SS consisted of mountain roads at elevations ranging from 2200m to 3500m, with road surfaces consisting predominantly of gravel. It also featured combinations of high-speed pistes, and off-piste terrain with continuous stretches of fesh-fesh (sandy terrain consisting of deposits of fine, powdery soil), making for extremely dusty conditions on the course.

Both of HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's HINO500 Series trucks completed this stage in great form. Overall rankings for Car 2 and Car 1 to 16th and 26th place, respectively.