Allen: When I excel is being the hunter

Kai Allen is eager to depart the Dunlop Super2 Series on a high note at the VAILO Adelaide 500 next weekend after a tough Repco Bathurst 1000.

Having entered the weekend as a comfortable points leader, a Friday qualifying crash was compounded by another crash in Saturday's race, which allowed Zach Bates and Aaron Cameron to jump him in the standings.

Having seen a 126-point advantage turn into a 42-point deficit to Bates, Allen has a tough task ahead of him if he is to defend his 2023 title, though it isn't entirely unfamiliar territory.

Allen entered last year's title decider 30 points behind Zak Best, but managed to turn things around to become the youngest ever Super2 champion in one of the closest ever Super2 points battles.

12 months later, Allen has secured a full-time promotion to the main game, and is looking to finish his tenure in the development series with some silverware.

"This is my last year in Super2 and I've enjoyed every minute racing with the Eggleston team, and the category has been such an awesome experience, it's got me to where I am next year racing with Penrite and Grove Racing," Allen told Supercars.com.

"Being my last event, we're going to leave it all on the table, have fun with the boys and girls at Eggleston Motorsport, try and do the best we can, and end on a high.

"I just want to do the best I can for Ben and Rachael Eggleston who have been massive supporters in my career so far, and hopefully we can end on a high for them and see what we can do."

Hailing from Mount Gambier, Allen is looking forward to returning to what is a home event on the streets of Adelaide, at an event where he has experienced a wide range of emotions in his two Dunlop Series appearances.

After a dominant 2022 Super3 campaign where he was the quickest car and regularly running with Super2 cars, Allen crashed at Turn 8 in Sunday's finale to hand Brad Vaughan the title.

Those learnings, combined with lessons learned from Bathurst last month, have Allen believing he is well placed to bounce back with a strong final event of his Super2 career.

"It's been quite an up-and-down year I think. Obviously we had a massive points lead heading into Bathurst, but as Bathurst does it bites quite hard," he said.

"I had a couple of big crashes there, but that's just motorsport unfortunately, if you're not pushing the limits you don't know, but I've had a pretty good run really over the past two years in Super2, haven't had too many accidents, and I think that one was just one of those things where I was just pushing the limits a little bit too hard for what I had.

"I learned a lot from that, obviously it hampered the championship a bit, but in the same point I think it's a blessing in disguise, it's sort of made me realise how close you are to crashing.

"So I think that really made me look back on stuff and go 'ok, well now I know where the limit is and how quickly it can go wrong,' and it was sort of the same in Super3 when I lost the championship in the last race at Adelaide at Turn 8, that really helped me last year with the mindset.

"Now I'm back in that hunting stage which I really like doing. When I excel it's being the hunter."

Should the 19-year-old come from behind to win the 2024 Dunlop Super2 Series, it would cap off a remarkable career in the development series.

Allen could become the first driver to claim back-to-back development series titles in it's 25 year history, a feat that defies his young age.

However, Allen is all too aware that he faces incredibly stiff competition at the VAILO Adelaide 500 finale, with both Bates and Cameron finding strong form in the last few rounds at Sandown and Bathurst.

"It would be very special," said the 19-year-old.

"It's going to be super difficult, Zach and Aaron have been on their game all year, and it would have to take a lot of luck to get it, but it doesn't mean we can't do it, we've just got to do the best we can.

"If that happens, it would be pretty special. Just being a part of the Eggleston family has been surreal, and to try and get another accomplishment for them would be cool, to get another championship especially.

"They're super hard to come by, as we've seen last year I got it, and this year we've gone from being in the lead by a mile to losing it at what feels like the flick of a switch.

"If we can get that championship and that back-to-back it would be unbelievable, and a good sign-off from Super2 for me, but at the end of the day we've done the best we can all year."

Dunlop Series action begins on Thursday at the VAILO Adelaide 500 with two practice sessions. Tickets for the event are on sale now.