How incidents masked the 'fastest car' in Allen's career

Such was his speed, that Kai Allen could have started from Avalon Airport for each Melbourne race and still found a way to finish inside the top 10.

The Penrite Racing driver finished third overall for the weekend, behind Larry Perkins Trophy winner Brodie Kostecki and Tickford Racing star Cam Waters.

Kostecki won three races, while Waters kept his nose clean and dodged the chaos. Allen, meanwhile, was involved in several incidents and dropped to the back, yet somehow clawed his way back each time.

The South Aussie driver produced a remarkable outcome: 41 positions gained in just 64 laps of racing around Albert Park, twice racing from the rear to score valuable points.

Crucially, Allen moved from 14th in the standings and 30 outside the top 10, to eighth and 28 points clear — a gain of six positions and a 58-point turnaround in the Finals race.

The comebacks

Allen, who turns 21 in June, was given some car by rookie engineer Riccardo Corte, formerly of the Ferrari Formula 1 team. Already, the duo have a great track record, Allen claiming a maiden front row in Sydney, before passing car after car in Melbourne.

Allen's average qualifying result over the weekend was a lowly 14.0, starting 17th, 13th, 13th and 13th for the four races. Twice he hit trouble on lap 1, being spun to 24th and last after a clash with Andre Heimgartner and Thomas Randle on Thursday, before clashing with Ryan Wood just metres into the finale.

On the other side of the coin, he marched from 13th to 10th on Friday, and 13th to ninth on Saturday. Even then, on Friday, he spun around attempting to pass Aaron Cameron, who clattered into Broc Feeney.

Saturday was a clean race, yet Allen duly carved his way to fourth.

Arguably most impressive of all, in what ended up being a 13-lap race, Allen copped a puncture after a start line collision with Wood. Seconds after the clash, the ailing Allen was hit by Macauley Jones, and sent Broc Feeney into a spin. Carnage ensured, yet Allen survived, and pitted for a new tyre.

Restarting 20th, Allen motored through the field again to rise into the top 10.

The reaction

After the heartbreak of Sydney, Allen emerged as one of the hardest chargers on the grid.

Unfortunately, Allen didn't have a trophy to show for it. Had he kept his nose clean or qualified better, you could make the argument that Allen could have challenged Kostecki for victory.

Importantly, Allen scored points where teammate Matt Payne, who suffered Saturday and Sunday disasters, couldn't.

“Overall it was a really solid weekend," Allen said.

"The car was the fastest I’ve had in my career, so massive credit to the team – it was absolutely flying. I must have passed around 40 cars across the weekend, maybe even more, so the pace was definitely there. We just couldn’t quite convert it into the results we wanted.

"Now the focus shifts to Taupō. I’m excited to get over to New Zealand for the doubleheader. The potential in the car is huge, the team is on fire, and we’re ready to bring it."

Kai Allen gains: 2026 Melbourne SuperSprint