Benetton Unveil New Performance Centre.

Benetton's Chief executive Rocco Benetton proudly opened the team's brand new state of the art 'human performance' centre at their Enstone base on Monday.


Team drivers Alex Wurz and Giancarlo Fisichella were on hand to open the facility which will concentrate on raising the fitness levels of the entire team, from the drivers to the mechanics.


The complex, which cost somewhere in the region of ?4m, will be managed by ex-international triathlete Bernie Shrosbree who will be assisted by a team of physiotherapists and sports scientists. Facilities within the centre include a performance studio, a briefing room, a testing laboratory and a physio clinic.


Rocco Benetton firmly believes that the key to the team's sucess is the fitness levels of everyone involved, not just the drivers. The facility will focus primarily on the unique demands Formula One puts on the drivers' bodies and is the first fitness centre to put this as its' main priority. McLaren also has an exclusive training room for its' drivers but, unlike Benetton's example, it is so secretive that many within the team are not allowed near the place.


Fitness has been a key element in Benetton's preparations for the forthcoming season as both Wurz and Fisichella have undergone intensive training programmes during the winter months which included a trip to the Canary Islands for work in a hot climate.


In the middle of all the excitement the team also announced that it would like to partner Renault if the engine manufacturer decides to return to Formula One in an official capacity within the next few years. The team feels that a partnership between themselves and an engine manufacturer is inevitable and they would like it to be with the French concern with which the team won the Drivers World Championship in 1995 with Michael Schumacher.