Picture Gallery: Dubai Renault Roadshow

Renault F1 on a desert

Shahzad Sheikh
14 April 2009

Last weekend Dubai was witness to the surreal sights and sounds of F1 cars in the desert, outside a shopping mall and within an indoor ski slope. We even got to see one of them crash!

As a build up to the two Middle F1 races this year, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the Renault F1 team’s spectacular Roadshow was a terrific appetizer that served to give the UAE a taste of the Formula 1 circus.

If you missed it, don’t worry, we’ve rounded up some pictures and videos from the weekend.

Thursday 9th April

The F1 cars and Renault's beautiful 360bhp Trophy Cup Meganes started the day with a spectacular early morning run through the desert.

Renault F1 Team third driver Romain Grosjean and demo driver Adam Khan made history as the first men to take F1 cars for a blast through the desert.

‘Racing in the desert was obviously different to anything I’ve experienced, but it was great to come here and do something that hasn’t been done before,’ said Romain as he climbed from the R28.

Adam was just as enthusiastic: ‘This is my first taste of the Renault Roadshow and I can’t think of a better place to start than Dubai. The road in the desert was a bit dusty but it was smooth and flat so we got up into top gear. Overall it was a lot of fun!’

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA’s Vice-President for sport couldn’t resist a go either. As a 14-time Middle East Rally Champion and self-confessed car enthusiast, he is no stranger to high-performance cars.

‘I’m lucky to have many supercars of my own, but nothing compares to this Formula 1 car,’ he said after completing his runs in the desert. ‘The thrust and power were simply amazing. It’s great of Renault to come to Dubai and put on this show and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to drive their car.’

Later in the day, Ben Sulayem was due to drag race the R28 against some of his own supercars including a McLaren SLR and Ford GT at the Dubai Autodrome. After a delay, due to the F1 car breaking down and another being fetched, he finally got off to a tyre-shredding start.

But the excitement was short-lived when the F1 veered off into the wall. Fortunately Ben Sulayem was shaken but unhurt and the car was repaired overnight. Some reports suggest there may have been a problem with the gearbox that caused the crash.

Still how often do you get to see a real live F1 car crash!

Click here to see the video.

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