JANUARY 17, 2000

...while Richards watches and waits

WHILE British American Racing goes through another reshuffle, we hear that David Richards of Prodrive is positioning himself for a bid for a shareholding in BAR if things do not go according to plan this year.

WHILE British American Racing goes through another reshuffle, we hear that David Richards of Prodrive is positioning himself for a bid for a shareholding in BAR if things do not go according to plan this year. Richards recently sold 49% of Prodrive to raise $50m.

Richards is seen within British American Tobacco as a safe pair of hands having masterminded the hugely successful 555ÊSubaru Legacy World Rally Championship program between 1993 and 1998. That program continued in 1999 withoutÊ555 badging, although the cars looked very similar to previous years and we have heard rumors in recent weeks that 555 may return to the Subaru operation this year. The 555 logo is not expected to figure strongly on the F1 cars with LuckyÊStrike being the brand which BAT wants to promote most of all. This fits in very nicely with Honda, the Lucky Strike red roundel on a white background being reminiscent of the Japanese flag.