Day 2: 7 Jan

On Jan 7 Competition of the Dakar Rally 2019 finally begins on an 84 km SS (Special Stage) en route from Lima to Pisco. Contestants first traveled on a 247 km liaison segment out of Lima to their first bivouac in Pisco. Competition was held on an SS near the bivouac, which was essentially a looped course as the finish line was also quite near the bivouac. The Pisco bivouac was set up at the base of a range of sand dunes, the same spot as last year. The SS also mainly consisted of sandy terrain, interspersed with dried riverbeds on rocky stretches and winding high-speed roads.

HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's two HINO500 Series trucks cleared the dunes stage without a hitch. The team's ace truck, Car 2 crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Katsumi Hamura, became stuck once in the stage but managed to finish at 19th place overall and top spot in the Under 10-litre Class. Meanwhile, Car 1 piloted by veteran Yoshimasa Sugawara and Dakar first-timer Ahito Sakurai missed one mandatory GPS waypoint but still managed to finish at 28th place overall and second in its Class before arriving safely at their bivouac in Pisco.