Allen withstands Kostecki blowtorch for maiden Supercars win

Kai Allen has become the 89th winner in ATCC/Supercars history after a faultless drive under maximum pressure in Race 10 at the ITM Christchurch Super 440.

Starting from fourth, Penrite Racing rolled the dice on strategy and came up trumps, with track position proving vital amid a charging Brodie Kostecki.

Allen had to withstand five laps of pressure with a tyre disadvantage, however the 20-year-old didn't put a foot wrong to repay the faith of the Grove family.

It was a wild and weird opening lap, as Kostecki got the jump off the outside of the front row, and comfortably led into the first two corners, as chaos unfolded behind.

A squeeze further back in the pack saw Macauley Jones shoot across the track, with teammate Cameron Hill an innocent victim as well as David Reynolds, whose 500th race barely got off the start line.

All three cars would limp back to the pits, with Jones the only one who would re-emerge, however the initial incident would trigger a bizarre sequence of event.

As cars approached the Turn 4 hairpin, a yellow flag was displayed with what appeared to be a Safety Car board, however the timing screens offered no indication that the Safety Car has been deployed.

That triggered mass confusion within the pack, with the battle from fifth onwards getting heated as cars flew in every which direction and slowed up.

Meanwhile, the lead quartet of Kostecki, Ryan Wood, Matt Payne, and Kai Allen all disappeared up the road, whilst Anton De Pasquale emerged at the head of the battle pack when everyone had realised there would be no Safety Car.

Broc Feeney would emerge as a loser from the confusion, tumbling back to 12th, whilst Aaron Cameron would sink through the pack after picking up damage in the opening skirmishes.

Allen would also work his away ahead of his teammate, who had dropped from first to fourth in a tough opening exchange, which would go against the Kiwi with the rejigged pit lane rules for the weekend.

Out front, Kostecki managed his gap to Wood, with the gap never exceeding two second but remaining comfortable until the pit stop cycle.

Allen was the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 16, and the undercut he generated was enormous, with Wood and Payne pitting together on Lap 20, and Kostecki pitting the following lap.

Penrite Racing also gambled by electing to only change the rear tyres of the #26 Ford, and Allen would emerge with an enormous lead.

Kostecki then had to deal with a speedy Wood when he emerged from pit lane, with the pair banging doors at Turn 4, however with four brand new tyres, the pace advantage over Allen was plain to see.

Having been a tick over five seconds as he exited the pit lane, Kostecki had mowed the gap down to two seconds in the space of six laps, and with six laps to go ranged up onto the back of the Penrite Ford.

Kostecki rattled the rear bar of the #26 at Turn 4, bringing Wood back into the fight despite a reported engine issue, which wasn't having any impact on his times.

With three laps to go, Allen was forced to half-defend at Turn 4, but his corner exits in key traction zones was mighty, enough to keep the #17 at bay.

In fact, Allen would ultimately extend his gap as Kostecki wouldn't have an answer, with Wood rounding out the podium to extend his Jason Richards Memorial Trophy lead.

Anton De Pasquale rounded out the top five for Team 18, after putting a forceful move on James Golding at Turn 4, with Cam Waters seventh, and Chaz Mostert, Zach Bates, and Broc Feeney rounding out the top 10.

Supercars return to Ruapuna tomorrow morning for back-to-back Boost Mobile Qualifying sessions, beginning at 10:05am NZST/8:05am AEST.