![\"Ex-F1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Michael-Masi-_-Ben-McMellan.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSRO Motorsports Australia CEO Ben McMellan (left) with Michael Masi (right). Image: Supplied<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSRO Motorsports Australia CEO Ben McMellan (left) with Michael Masi (right). Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
Masi joins the organisation as its new head of sporting, commencing a handover immediately before stepping into the role full-time in 2027.<\/p>\n
As part of the position, Masi will oversee the rules and regulations of SRO\u2019s categories, ensuring processes and procedures are followed under SRO Global standards.<\/p>\n
He will also be responsible for managing the stewards, race director and other race officials.<\/p>\n
Masi takes over from Abi Hay, who will return to Europe to focus on her position as series manager of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, SRO manufacturer relations manager, and SRO GT Academy manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an extremely exciting opportunity to be part of the next chapter for SRO Motorsports Australia, and I\u2019m looking forward to continuing the great work that has already been done by the team and particularly Abi,\u201d Masi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGT racing in Australia has been on a steady rise, and I\u2019m confident there is plenty of opportunity to continue building on the strong foundations that have already been established.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to working with everyone involved and hopefully implementing some positive initiatives that can further develop the sport and deliver benefits for competitors, teams and all of our stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n
SRO Motorsports Australia CEO Ben McMellan expressed his excitement at appointing somebody of Masi\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted to have someone of Michael\u2019s stature joining SRO Motorsports Australia for the remainder of the 2026 season and beyond,\u201d McMellan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael brings an enormous amount of experience from decades spent at the in top positions of motorsport, and we\u2019re confident his knowledge and expertise will help take GT racing in Australia to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Michael\u2019s appointment is a fantastic coup for SRO Motorsports Australia, he is also stepping into a strong position that has been built through the tireless efforts of Abi Hay.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to thank Abi for everything she has contributed to SRO Motorsports Australia over the past three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be in the position we are today without her knowledge, hard-working attitude and dedication, and I have no doubt she will be missed by our team and the wider Australian motorsport community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Masi joins SRO with a wealth of Australian and international experience, holding several roles within Motorsport Australia \u2013 including CEO of Rally Australia, and deputy race director for Supercars.<\/p>\n
Masi is best known for his time as race director for Formula 1 from 2019 to 2021, which culminated in the infamous title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Masi was thrust into the role after the sudden death of Charlie Whiting, having deputised prior.<\/p>\n
Alongside the role at SRO, Masi will continue to serve as deputy chair of Karting Australia and remain a board member of the South Australian Motor Sport Board.<\/p>\n
Masi\u2019s tenure commences this weekend at the Shannons SpeedSeries GT Festival Sydney at Sydney Motorsport Park on September 18-20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SRO Motorsports Australia CEO Ben McMellan (left) with Michael Masi (right). Image: Supplied Masi joins the organisation as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,149761,7499,254712,85,265440],"class_list":["post-893541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-michael-masi","tag-slot4","tag-speedseries","tag-sports","tag-sro-motorsports-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}