George Chrobak was named as the 2023 FIA Best Track or Road Marshal as part of the FIA’s Prize Giving Ceremony in Baku.
The NSW-based official has been a circuit official for over 40 years. He started as a young, junior flag marshal at Oran Park and gone on to be a regular Chier Marshal at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. He has been a significant part of the AGP team that was awarded the FIA Best Team of Officials in 2020.
“I was so surprised and taken aback when I received a call that I had been nominated for this year’s FIA Officials award. However, that quickly changed to major overwhelm when I was told the FIA had actually chosen me as the recipient,” said Chrobak.
“Not only was it a huge surprise to be part of the award back in 2020, but it was a fantastic honour to play a key role in leading a large team of keen, dedicated volunteer officials who are some of the best in the world.”
The award winner also spent a large portion of his time in the training of the next generation of officials via the Motorsport Australia National Officiating Program or with the International Training Team.
In the early 1990s, he helped develop Motorsport Official Training in NSW, while he also participated in the program during its infancy. He was recognised for his efforts in 1994 when he was named the NSW State Official of the Year.
In the 2000s, Chrobak first represented Motorsport Australia as part of the International Training Team to help train Bahrain officials for their Formula 1 Grand Prix, and was part of Singapore, South Korea, and Qatar F1 training programs.
He has attended more than 40 Bathurst 1000s as Senior Chief Flag Marshal at more than half of them. He also had roles as Chief Spectator, Track, Flag, and Sector Marshal over the past few decades, and Chief Marshal at the past two Australian Grand Prix.