Penrite Racing retire Allen's first race winner, new chassis to debut

Penrite Racing have announced that the chassis that carried Kai Allen to his first career Repco Supercars Championship victory has been retired effective immediately.

The decision has been made to allow the 20-year-old to move into a brand-new car from the next round at the betr Darwin Triple Crown, the new chassis designated chassis GR-04.

Notably Allen's current car, GR-03, has been a strong performer in Allen's hands since he made his debut at Sydney last year, claiming nine podiums, including Allen's breakthrough win in Christchurch, as well as taking the then-rookie to an unlikely Grand Final appearance last year.

Now, the second-year driver will jump behind the wheel of a brand-new car for the first time in his young career, the chassis to debut at the venue where a still-teenaged Allen claimed his first career podiums last season.

"We're in the process now of building a new chassis, so it's a big thing for us at Grove. This is our fourth car, we're calling it GR-04," said Head of Race Engineering Jack Bell in a social media video.

"We're at the early stages of the chassis, which is the centre section of the car, and then from here we add on the front and rear clip, which is the next big areas of the chassis.

"One of the key milestones that we've hit already is installing the fuel tank. We've got the wiring laid out in the car now which is great, that's a big tick for the boys.

"The other key one is the fire bomb system, and then we have these big black lines that go to the front and rear of the car to protect the car and the driver in the event of a potential fire.

"These are all big key areas that are good to tick off, still plenty of work to go on the interior, but it's nice to start getting a few of these building blocks."

GR-03 is the second Penrite Mustang to be retired in the space of 12 months, with chassis GR-01 retired at the end of the 2025 season after claiming an extraordinary Bathurst win last year with Payne and Garth Tander. Payne will continue in chassis GR-02.

GR-04 is the latest in a swarm of new machinery to debut mid-season, with Tickford and Erebus Motorsport debuting new chassis' in Tasmania for Cam Waters and Cooper Murray respectively.

Tickford are also set to roll out a new chassis for Thomas Randle later this season.

Allen currently sits fifth in points heading to the next round of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship at the betr Darwin Triple Crown from June 19-21. Tickets for the event are on sale now.