'Bring it on, champion': Allen fired up by Kostecki hit
Kai Allen outlasted Brodie Kostecki to claim maiden Supercars win
Kostecki hit galvanised Allen's resolve in crucial final stint in Race 10
Allen held on after taking two tyres to Kostecki's four
Rising star Kai Allen has recounted how he responded in the face of pressure from Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki as he fought for his first Supercars win.
The Penrite Racing driver resisted Shell V-Power Racing Team star Kostecki in the ITM Christchurch Super 440 to secure his maiden Supercars win in his 48th start.
At 20, Allen became the fifth youngest driver to win a Supercars race, yet he delivered a performance beyond his years to claim a stunning victory.
Kostecki took four tyres to Allen’s two in the stops, and looked on course for another win. However, Allen stood tall, even surviving a big hit from Kostecki to hang tough.
It was that hit that galvanised Allen’s resolve, with engineer Riccardo Corte guiding his young driver through the race. Kostecki returned serve on Saturday, beating Allen in Race 11.
“We took those two tyres and I think he came out with about 15 laps to go, five seconds behind me,” Allen said on MotorRacing 360.
"I thought, 'oh, this is gonna get a bit chaotic’. But I did a lot of research on the track and knowing that if you put the car on the right spots, it's actually quite hard to pass. Being the first race, it was a bit of an unknown.
“I think it was five laps to go, he gave me a bit of a whack in the hairpin in and I thought, ‘alright mate, let’s go, bring it on champion’.
“He was all over my rear bar and then the car sort of came to me, and Riccardo was really good at giving me feedback about driving the car off the exits and using the strength of the rear tyre.”
Corte's bold strategy still needed the driver to do the job. However, Allen admitted his #26 Penrite Mustang improved as the stint wore on.
Such was Allen’s joy in the result, that he gifted his race-winning helmet to team owner Stephen Grove.
“Basically the only thing I had against Brodie was the same quality rear tyre. Set the car up, dealt with a few hits here and there, but drove it off the corner,” Allen continued.
“The car almost came back to life towards the end of that race, almost pulled a little bit of a gap at the end there. I was just eyes forward, obviously could feel him there and see his lights, but at the same time, I didn't look back too much."
Allen jumped from 11th to fifth in the championship across the weekend, with the 2026 season resuming in Tasmania on May 22-24.
