Senior official David Mori will return to the role of Clerk of the Course for a second-consecutive year at the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix 2026.
Mori, who was elevated to the role for the first time last year, is highly regarded as one of the most senior and experienced officials with Motorsport Australia.
The Clerk of the Course appointment of Australia’s largest motorsport event is the culmination of 40 years of work in various officials positions throughout his career.
“It’s quite humbling to be appointed again and to be able to work with the majority of the same team that I worked with last year,” Mori said.
“Overall, I think we put on an amazing event last year, and the collaboration between Motorsport Australia and Australian Grand Prix Corporation has continue to improve in recent years and that has been the case this year as well.
“I attribute that to the leadership team that’s in place for this event as well as the rest of those in the event command team.
“Officials like Lawrie Schmitt, David Stuart and Kaye Callander to name a few, have put in a lot of effort to collaborate well with event organisers to ensure that from the sporting side of things, everything is as it should be in compliance with our rules and FIA rules too.”
Leading the officials cohort from Race Control, Schmitt and Stuart will serve as Deputy Clerks of the Course throughout the week, while Callander will be designated Assistant Clerk of the Course.
Mori is well-versed experience-wise at the Australian Grand Prix, having attended every single modern-day Australian Grand Prix, but three.
Looking back at Mori’s trajectory up the officials hierarchy, he has undertaken roles starting as a track marshal, before moving into communications and flags. He then shifted to being a Sector Marshall before moving to Race Control as the Chief of Communications.
From there he served as an Assistant Clerk of the Course for national categories, the Deputy Clerk of the Course for National Categories, before moving into his current position in 2025. Mori also volunteers his time as the Clerk of the Course for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and has done so since 2021.
“To have more than 1000 officials giving their time and expertise to the grand prix is something incredibly special, and it’s a credit to the strength of our officiating community, and something I have had the privilege of witnessing over four decades,” Mori added.
“Having experienced this event from so many different roles, I can say the dedication and professionalism of our officials is what truly underpins its success.”
Mori joins the 1000-plus officials who will be on-hand for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, all of which started their journey by obtaining a Motorsport Australia Officials Licence.
