MOTOR SPORT DIGEST/Dakar Rally: Battered but unbowed, Colin McRae is determined to drive again in a future Dakar Rally and win the event which on Wednesday came to end for him this year in a 100mph crash. However his future appearance remains in limbo as Nissan may pull out of the race.

The Japanese firm's chief executive Carlos Ghosn has demanded a top-three finish if investment is to be stepped up and that outcome is far from certain as the rally nears the halfway point, although the team's Portuguese driver Carlos Sousa is lying in fifth.

While other teams have expressed an interest in his services in the past, McRae is unemployed for the time being. Sandstorms caused such havoc during Thursday's 409-mile stage in Mauritania that four hours separated the top 10 cars.

As McRae acknowledged, the gaps raise questions about his pace-setting assault over the opening stages.

"It's about getting to the end in a reasonable time and not worrying about individual stages," he said. "It's a different approach when you come from a sprint background. The problem was I didn't have a problem with the bumps last year. Maybe that was the mistake, not showing enough respect for the desert. It certainly showed me who's boss."

The force of the impact left him almost blind for a quarter of an hour but he maintains that a few days' rest at home will cure him.

"It was a fairly heavy accident. The only good thing is in the desert you don't come to a sudden stop against a tree. You lose a fair bit of energy in the roll," he said.

Adversity has given him a taste for cross-country rallying, especially when there is no immediate sign of a "conventional" drive.

"I'm really disappointed. I'd start again tomorrow if I could. In half a day we did a world championship rally in terms of competitive mileage. On these desert rallies you get in the car in the morning and drive flat out until the evening," he said.

Mitsubishi's Stephane Peterhansel retains the lead after yesterday's stage was cancelled to allow stragglers to regroup.

FORMULA ONE: Red Bull Racing's preparations for their debut Formula One season have been thrown into disarray by the sudden sacking of their management team.

The soft drink giant bought out Jaguar last month and inherited the staff and facilities of the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Tony Purnell and David Pitchforth were kept on in their respective roles as managing director and team boss but they were this morning dramatically axed by Red Bull.

The pair had worked tirelessly to ensure Jaguar had a future and were held in high esteem by many within Formula One for their running of the team on a tight budget in 2004.

But when they arrived at the Milton Keynes factory yesterday morning they were told by the new owners their services were no longer required and left immediately.

The managerial void was swiftly filled by ex-Formula 3000 team owner Christian Horner, who has been named sporting director.

A Red Bull statement read: "Horner will jointly manage Red Bull Racing together with a new technical director, whose appointment will be announced within the next week.

"Horner and the new technical director succeed Tony Purnell and David Pitchforth, managing director and team manager of Jaguar Racing for the past season, both of whom spent the last weeks working for Red Bull Racing."

Horner has long been interested in running a Formula One team and was even linked to a buy-out of Jaguar before Red Bull stepped in.

His Arden International team dominated the final seasons of F3000 and Horner had also been spoken of as a potential new owner of Jordan.