Schenken has been an intrinsic part of the event ever since the world championship arrived in Australia for the first time in 1985.
He’s one of two high-profile senior official changes for the grand prix, with Henk van den Dungen also expected to move on from his role as national clerk of course for the event.
Like Schenken, van den Dungen has been a stalwart of the event since its origins in Adelaide.
Speedcafe understands that the changes have come from Motorsport Australia, which is yet to make an official comment regarding the matter.
A racing driver himself, Schenken is one of six Australians to have stood on an F1 podium, finishing third at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix for Brabham.
He was also successful in sports cars and was a factory Ferrari driver for a time.
Following his racing career, Schenken moved into the sport’s administration.
Working as deputy clerk of course at the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in 1985, he became clerk course from 1988.
He dovetailed that with the Supercars race director role from 1997 until his retirement in 2021.
He was inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame in 2022, after being awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2016.
“I feel privileged to have spent most of my life in motor sport in one capacity or another,” he said when named among the Queen’s birthday honours.
“Motor racing has been more than a job, it has been a great passion of mine.”
Van den Dungen’s involvement is similarly extensive with his career as a motorsport official beginning in the 1960s as a flag marshal.
He was part of the team central to the development of the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.
In 1985, he was named the national clerk of the course for the Australian Grand Prix, holding the job for all 37 subsequent events.
In 2021, van den Dungen was named FIA Senior Official of the Year.
“What always stuck with me was that the late great Charlie Whiting (former Formula 1 Race Director) used to love coming to our event because he knew he didn’t have to worry about the circuit as he had complete faith in us as operators,” he said in 2021 when receiving the award.
“I love working at the Grand Prix. It’s such a great event and has such a buzzing atmosphere.
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world and honestly, it’s the most exciting thing I do all year.”
While unconfirmed, David Mori makes a logical replacement for Schenken.
Motorsports Events Manager for Motorsport Australia, he already has experience of the job having performed clerk of course duties at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He has also worked as Supercars deputy race director to James Taylor at Albert Park this year, the pair part of a small Australian contingent who participated in ‘high-performance training’ with the FIA in Geneva last February.
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