Renault buy Benetton for £76m

Renault, the top Formula One engine maker of the 1990s, have bought the Benetton team for £76 million.

Benetton, the Italian clothing group, will retain a role as a sponsor for two years as part of the deal.

The move is the latest by a major automobile manufacturer to buy all or part of an F1 team.

Stewart Ford sold out last year to Ford, who renamed the team Jaguar. BMW also recently bought into the Williams team and Honda has teamed up with British American Racing.

Renault were the most successful engine supplier in the 1990s but dropped out of Formula One after the 1997 season.

Rowing: Galway on a St Patrick's weekend needs no added attractions to draw the crowds, but the Tribesemen head of the river tomorrow will have a buzz all its own. The entry of 388 crews makes it the biggest single rowing event of the year, and even this early in the season there is also quality on offer.

World Championship medallists Neville Maxwell - a Galway man - and Tony O'Connor take part in the open pairs, while a Garda crew still smarting from their fourth-place finish in last weekend's Dublin head face an interesting challenge from the national under-23 squad in the eights race. UCC, Galway Rowing Club, Tribesmen and a Lady Victoria/Belfast Rowing Club composite complete the entry in this feature race which is scheduled for 4.15 p.m.

The head, which is sponsored by Carlsberg, starts with the small boats event at 11.0 a.m. The scullers and pairs events begin at 2.0 p.m.

Basketball: St Vincent's will open the defence of their ESB National Championship title this afternoon against Kerry Spring Killarney to start a busy weekend at the National Basketball Arena.

The top eight teams from the men's and women's Superleagues will compete for the last honour of the season and St Vincent's, with more titles than any other league side, have every chance of repeating last year's success. However, they will be without one of their top scorers, Karl Donnelly, as he lines out with Na Fianna in the club football final at Croke Park around the same time.

The first of today's games will feature Superleague champions Neptune against UCD Marian - the final team to qualify with their eighth-place league finish. But the closest game of the day is likely to be Star of the Sea's tie with Denny Notre Dame. Both had one win and one loss in their two league meetings this season.

Women's league champions Tolka Rovers should come comfortably through their clash with non-league Portlaoise (who with Blarney join the six Superleague teams) while the first game for defending champions Avonmore Snowcream Wildcats is against Crusaders. The women's quarter-finals take place at the Naomh Olaf GAA club, with both tomorrow's semi-finals and Sunday's finals taking place at the National Arena.

Quarter-finals: Men (National Basketball Arena) - Neptune v Hibernian UCD Marian (12.0); Esat Telecom Demons v Killester (2.0); St Vincent's v Kerry Spring Killarney (4.0); Star of the Sea v Denny Notre Dame (6.0). Women (Naomh Olaf GAA Club) - Tolka Rovers v Portlaoise (11.0); Meteors v Blarney (1.0); University of Limerick v Killester (3.0); Avonmore Snowcream Wildcats v Crusaders (5.0).

Boxing: Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will fight in Milan on May 20th, a spokeswoman for the Italian promoters confirmed yesterday.