Sato to miss Korea race

F1-bound Sato dominated proceedings at last weekend's Macau showpiece event and is thought to have wanted to compete in Korea this weekend. However, due to F1 commitments and the fact that his Carlin Motorsport team mate Anthony Davidson injured his neck during a practice accident in Macau on Friday, Sato will not be taking part.

"Obviously I'm disappointed not to be doing Korea," said Sato. "I'm very pleased to have won in Macau but now preparation for Formula 1 is the most important thing."

A spokesman for Sato added: "He's not going to be doing Korea because Jordan are keen that he doesn't do it."

With neither British F3 Champion Sato, nor Davidson taking part this weekend the international race, which takes place on the Changwon City Raceway, will run without the top two men from this year's British series.

Last year's Korea winner Narain Karthikeyan, who took over from Davidson at Macau, will again stand in for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Young Driver this weekend, while last year's Macau winner Andre Couto will take over Sato's Carlin seat.

"Obviously, we're disappointed not to have Anthony and Takuma here this weekend," said team boss Trevor Carlin. "But you couldn't ask for better substitutes in Andre and Narain. We're still totally committed to winning the race and scoring a clean sweep for the team."