JANUARY 3, 2002

Renault engine flops on Dakar

JEAN-LOUIS SCHLESSER has retired his Renault Kangoo Schlesser Special from the Paris-Dakar after only six stages. The former F1 driver was struggling to be competitive with his Renault diesel engine and was forced out when the unit finally caught fire.

The high-profile failure will not be good news for Renault which spent last season struggling with its radical wide-angle V10 F1 engine. Renault is bargaining on being successful with radical engine layouts but at the moment the development process is somewhat painful.