Former F1 race director Michael Masi has been appointed Chair of the SuperCars Commission, his first role since being axed by the FIA earlier this year.
Masi makes a return to the Australian series after being sacked because of his ill-handling of the controversial 2021 title-decider between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.
Initially, Masi was removed as race director for the 2022 campaign but was expected to find another role within the FIA.
However, his departure from the organisation was announced in July, confirming that he would relocate to Australia to be “closer to his family and take on new challenges”.
Masi’s new role in SuperCars will see become the new independent chair of the Commission.
He was formerly SuperCars deputy race director in 2016 before being appointed as Charlie Whiting’s second in command two years later.
Masi was promoted to F1 race director in 2019 following Whiting’s passing, holding the role until the end of last year.
The Australian’s failure to follow the correct Safety Car rules at the end of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix led to widespread controversy and the reason why Verstappen was able to win the title at Hamilton’s expense.
Speaking of the news, Masi said: “I view this role as continuing the amazing work already done by Neil and the Commission to lead Supercars into a brand new era with the introduction of the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.
“I’m very proud to have been appointed to this role and look forward to working with the key stakeholders in the sport to ensure the future is an exciting one for our teams, partners, sponsors and most importantly the fans.”