AUGUST 5, 2001

Sato dominates the Marlboro Masters

JAPAN's rising star Takuma Sato totally dominated the annual Marlboro Masters Formula 3 race at Zandvoort on Sunday.

JAPAN's rising star Takuma Sato totally dominated the annual Marlboro Masters Formula 3 race at Zandvoort on Sunday. Sato is the dominant force in British Formula 3 this year and this victory gives him a major international triumph in his Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mugen Honda, running on Bridgestone tires.

Sato's major challenger was Frenchman Benoit Treluyer but he had gearbox trouble as the field accelerated away at the start and it dropped him into the midfield. This allowed Jaguar Racing's Andre Lotterer to get up to second place from fifth on the grid and there he stayed, fighting off Sato's Carlin team mate Anthony Davidson, who went from 10th to fourth on the first lap and moved to third when Bruce Jouanny spun out of third position on the second lap.

Another Formula 1 hopeful Gianmaria Bruni finished fourth in his Fortec Dallara-Renault ahead of Portugal's Tiago Monteiro.