What's new in 2025: Supercars' latest rookies
Supercars.com is highlighting some key on- and off-track changes coming in 2025, continuing with two highly touted full-time rookies.
Amid the growing shift towards youth in the Repco Supercars Championship, this year's rookie class features two full-time rookies who have been attracting a lot of attention on their path to Supercars.
After a season with Richie Stanaway failed to build on a strong start at the Bathurst 500, Grove Racing have gone for an extreme youth policy with Kai Allen to partner Matt Payne to form the youngest full-time Supercars driver pairing since 2007.
Erebus Motorsport have also continued their promotion of young talent in Supercars, with Cooper Murray being snapped up from his starring role in Triple Eight's wildcard last year to replace 2023 champion Brodie Kostecki.
Both young men have had highly impressive rises through the ranks of Australian motorsport, and will be eager to grab their chance to prove themselves against the toughest competition on offer in the country.
Who are they?
19-year-old Allen arrives in Supercars off the back of one of the most successful careers in the Super2 Series' 25-year history, the final chapter of a meteoric rise through the ranks.
A prodigious karter, Paul Morris took Allen into his Norwell stable in 2021 for starts in the Toyota 86 Series and Hyundai Excels before a quick graduation to the Dunlop Series in 2022.
Linking with Rachael Eggleston in Super3, the South Australian turned heads with some incredible performances in an older VE Commodore, though missed out on the title after a crash in the final race in Adelaide despite winning six times.
Eggleston Motorsport handed Allen a Super2 promotion in 2023, and in the following two seasons racked up six wins in 24 starts, a further four podiums, two pole positions, and the 2023 Super2 Series victory.
23-year-old Murray has been teammate to Allen the past two seasons at Eggleston, after bursting onto the scene in Porsche Sprint Challenge and Carrera Cup Australia.
Murray won on Super2 Series debut in Newcastle in 2023, and finished fourth in his rookie season, before a tough year in 2024 saw him fail to finish four of the first five races.
However, it was his Triple Eight main game wildcard appearances that really put him in the spotlight, making the Top Ten Shootout in just his second start in Darwin, and finishing a supreme fifth at the Sandown 500 with Craig Lowndes.
How they arrived at 2025 teams
Having made his Supercars debut in 2023 in a Dick Johnson Racing wildcard at Bathurst, many tipped Allen to step up into a Shell V-Power Racing Mustang full-time this season.
However, when it became apparent that there was no spot available at DJR, who were pursuing Kostecki, Allen's development deal would run out and allow the teenager to pursue other opportunities in the series.
Grove Racing quickly pounced, with Allen snapped up on a long-term deal to partner up with Grove junior Matt Payne, who despite his young age will be entering his third season with the team.
With Kostecki moving on after his troubled start to his title defence that saw him miss the opening two rounds of the season, Murray emerged as a candidate for the drive having completed an evaluation day with the team in 2023.
Both deals were announced in an unprecedented event at the Norwell Motorplex, where Kostecki has worked closely with Murray, who was a presence in Erebus' pit garage after his Triple Eight duties concluded.
Indeed, both Allen and Murray had sneak previews of their 2025 rides at the VAILO Adelaide 500 finale last year, both performing as fill-ins for Stanaway and Jack Le Brocq respectively.
Allen had to wait until Sunday to drive the #26 Mustang, qualifying 19th and finishing 22nd, whilst Murray got two 250km races under his belt with a best qualifying of 13th, and a best finish of 18th.
What can they achieve in 2025?
Getting an early taste of their 2025 rides in Adelaide last year could prove to be invaluable for both of these rising stars in their maiden full-time campaigns.
The new formats for this season could also be much more familiar for Allen and Murray (as well as confirmed wildcards and fellow Super2 alumni Zach Bates and Cameron Crick), with sprint races set to be a more prominent feature.
100km sprint races will feature at Sydney, Townsville, and a revamped Adelaide, whilst the new Super 440 sprint format features two 120km sprint races on the Saturday, on two different tyre compounds.
Whilst the tyres could take some getting used to, the style of aggressive racing that the sprint races will demand could potentially go hand-in-hand with the aggressive nature of the Dunlop Series.
Both Allen and Murray have landed at teams that can provide them with an opportunity to fight at the front of the field sooner rather than later.
Erebus Motorsport were back to their 2023 best after Kostecki announced his DJR move, and Murray has displayed seriously impressive pace in his short main game career, and has been tutored and guided by the reigning Bathurst champion extensively in the back end of last season.
Grove Racing have been on a rapid rise since they entered the sport, and with Allen completing such a young driver line-up, and Garth Tander on hand as a mentor and co-driver, they could very well be set for success for years to come.
Being inside the top 10 in points at the end of the Repco Bathurst 1000 and qualifying for the Finals is definitely a possibility for both drivers this season, however in such a competitive field, that won't be an easy task.
Tickets for the season-opening round in Sydney, on February 21-23, are on sale now.
