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Supercars Australian GP round cancelled

Supercars officials will scramble to re-schedule the cancelled Melbourne round, but more events could be in jeopardy as the coronavirus spreads.

Teams at Albert Park are packing up after the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix was called off because of the global health pandemic.

Qualifying was held on Thursday for four 20-lap Supercars races to run alongside the grand prix this weekend, but F1 bosses on Friday made the unprecedented call to abandon the event.

It left Supercars officials with no other option but to follow suit following a member of McLaren's F1 team testing positive for coronavirus.

"Given the cancellation of this weekend's event, we will look to reschedule another event later in the year. We are fortunate that this year's calendar enables us to do so," a Supercars statement read.

"Supercars will continue to adhere to government health advice and act to ensure the health and safety of our fans and our people remains our primary focus."

With the next round at Symmons Plains in Tasmania three weeks away, those races could be held without fans or not at all.

On Friday, Australia's chief medical officer told state and federal leaders that gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled.

Defending champion Scott McLaughlin leads the series after winning the second race at last month's season-opener in Adelaide.

Red Bull great Jamie Whincup sits second in the standings following his emotional race-one win, which came just days after General Motors announced they would be retiring the Holden brand by the end of this year.