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Supercars set for Bathurst 1000 finale

Ed JacksonAAP
The Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama is expected to be round off the Supercars season this year.
Camera IconThe Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama is expected to be round off the Supercars season this year. Credit: AAP

This year's Supercars championship is all but certain to finish with a rescheduled Bathurst 1000 in December after confirmation the Gold Coast 500 has been cancelled.

The decision to call off the Surfers Paradise street races was officially announced on Monday but had been flagged by Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate last week.

Supercars said ongoing safety and logistic concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic were behind the cancellation.

"To cancel the event for a second year is an incredibly difficult decision, but a necessary one," Supercars chief executive Sean Seamer said.

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The event, which was set to be held over December 3-5, is expected to be replaced by a rescheduled Bathurst 1000 - which will double as a season finale.

Supercars hasn't raced since the Townsville SuperSprint in July as lockdowns in NSW and Victoria play havoc with the championship's schedule.

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The next event is scheduled to be at Winton, in regional Victoria, on October 2 and 3 but remains in serious doubt due to Melbourne's worsening COVID situation.

An event at Phillip Island later next month was cancelled on Friday while a night-race event at Sydney Motorsport Park in November must also be under a massive cloud due to that city's virus crisis.

Organisers are determined to still hold the showpiece 1000km endurance classic at Mount Panorama - which is a critical plank of the sport's broadcast deal with Channel Seven and Foxtel.

The Bathurst 1000 has already been pushed back to a tentative November 7 date from early October but is widely expected to be held in early December.

An announcement on the remaining events for 2021 is expected to be made by Supercars later this week.

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