Hiroshi Masuoka - Dakar 2009 - start - Buenos Aires

is a Japanese

rally driver Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

Career

Masuoka's most notable achievement was his back-to-back successes in the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

in 2002 and 2003, only the fourth driver in the event's history to win in consecutive years. He was also victorious in the 2003 Baja Italy and the 2004 UAE Desert Challenge.Official page
, Pajero-dakar.com Throughout his career he has been employed as a works driver by

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

, typically driving a Pajero. The

2009 Dakar Rally The 2009 Dakar Rally was the 31st running of the Dakar Rally. The race began on 3 January 2009, and took place across Argentina and Chile. The rally was for the first time to take place outside of Europe and Africa as the location was changed by ...

was his 21st and final participation in the rally, after which he retired along with Mitsubishi's withdrawal from the event. During his Dakar career, he won 25 stages, putting him fifth in the all-time list for the car category. He is now Senior Expert of Mitsubishi's Public Relations Department."Triumph on Pikes Peak"
dSpace Magazin, January, 2015, p.50

Personal life

Masuoka currently resides in Iruma,

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

, with his wife Chiaki and son Shoichiro.

Dakar Rally results

References

External links

1960 births Japanese rally drivers Living people Mitsubishi Motors people Off-road racing drivers People from Iruma, Saitama Dakar Rally drivers Dakar Rally–winning drivers 20th-century Japanese sportsmen {{Japan-autoracing-bio-stub