Allen's GT debut draws praise from F1 champion Verstappen
Kai Allen's GT debut draws praise from F1 champion Max Verstappen
Allen drove in Dubai 24 Hour in Grove Racing-entered Mercedes-AMG GT3
Rising star raced with Verstappen team drivers in Dubai race
Kai Allen's maiden international foray has caught the eye of the man who is arguably the best racing driver on the planet.
In a headstart to his 2026 racing season, last year's Grand Finalist drove in the Dubai 24 Hour in a Grove Racing-entered Mercedes-AMG GT3, where gearbox issues kept the car to seventh outright.
Alongside Grove Racing owners Stephen and Brenton Grove, the 2023 Super2 champion drove alongside European aces Jules Gounon and sim racing convert Chris Lulham.
Both drivers are set to drive for Verstappen Racing in this year's GT World Challenge Europe season, Lulham driving alongside Daniel Juncadella for the full season and Mercedes factory ace Gounon joining the pair for the Endurance Cup.
Verstappen Racing is the GT operation run by Red Bull F1 superstar and four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who was keeping tabs on his two charges throughout the weekend.
However, Verstappen also took a keen interest in what Allen was up to, even dropping private messages hinting at how impressed he was with the 20-year-old's GT3 debut.
"Having Chris as our co-driver, he's obviously part of Max's team and comes from sim," Allen told Supercars.com.
"Max is in-depth, making sure that his two drivers this year for his GT3 team, Jules and Chris, are up to speed and he was keeping an eye on things with me and comparing to Chris.
"It was pretty cool to have that connection there, and to see that Max is such a racer. Even though he's a four-time F1 world champion he's still keeping an eye on little races in Dubai at 2:00am his time making sure Chris and Jules are doing a good job.
"For him to be checking on all the other boys, that's pretty cool. With that opportunity it was really cool to get in front of people who are global and worldwide.
"Obviously very cool, and very grateful for the opportunity that Stephen and Brenton Grove gave me to join them in that 24 Hour race, and it's something that I'll cherish for a long time."
Allen returns to the cockpit of a Mercedes-AMG GT3 this weekend at the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Brenton Grove and Will Davison, who will join Matt Payne for Supercars' Ryco Enduro Cup.
The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship begins at the DUNLOP Sydney 500 from February 20-22. Tickets for the event, including DUNLOP Free Friday, are on sale now.
