Benetton opens Human Performance Center

Benetton Formula has opened a new £4m Human Performance Center to try and get their drivers fit enough to have the mental edge on the competition.

The Human Performance Centre is a state-of-the-art training facility designed for Benetton Formula One's two drivers and for use by the whole team. It was conceived with the purpose of providing a personalised, scientific and comprehensive approach to driver and team training and to optimise performance, and has now grown into a massive facility in its own right.

Rocco Benetton said: "The fitness of a driver is of paramount importance to his performance and his needs are unique. I believe in investing as much in human as technical resources to find that competitive edge, and the HPC is not solely for the drivers but for the whole team to ensure the highest level of performance from all of us."

Morgan Grenfell turns down FOA stake Morgan Grenfell has turned down the 37.5% stake in FOA that it had an option on, and is just keeping to the 12.5% share bought earlier from Bernie Ecclestone. The 37.5% has, however, been sold to Hellman & Friedman who are a US private equity firm. The deal is believed to be worth around $1bn (£600m).

Williams prepares for Michelin tests WilliamsF1 are preparing for Michelin tyres in 2001. The team is to set up a small test team out of the ex-BMW Motorsport headquarters in Grove for the testing, and will use a couple of last years FW21Bs. The team plans to test at F1 venues once the races have completed. No other teams have so far committed to Michelin, though the FIA they could require them to supply a substantial part of the field.

-- Stephen M Baines http://www.motorsport.org.uk