Allen eager to continue learning in main game push

Heading into Townsville last season, Kai Allen had yet to taste victory in the Super2 Series, having missed out on a Super3 title after crashing at the infamous Adelaide sweeper in the 2022 finale.

Allen claimed his first Super2 race and round victory at Townsville last year, and moved from seventh to second in the points standings, 66 points behind Zak Best.

Fast forward 12 months, and Allen has gone from being the hunter to being the hunted, the reigning Super2 champion now taking an impressive 114-point lead into Sandown.

Allen has had an incredible start to the 2024 Dunlop Series, taking four dominant victories in the first six races, and having equally impressive recovery drives from poor starting positions in the other two.

Speaking in the post-event press conference, Allen said that he was always looking forward to continuing the momentum at the scene of his first career Super2 victory.

“Townsville is one of my favourite events, obviously last year I was coming here off a difficult Perth seventh in the championship, and then I got a race win, a second place and the round win," the teenager said.

“I walked out of here P2 in the championship not really knowing what was going on, and set me up for the back end of the year to chip away at Zak who was super speedy all year.”

Having come from behind to claim last year’s Super2 crown on the streets of Adelaide, Allen has been on a mission to further improve himself in 2024, with an eye on securing a main game promotion for 2025.

Allen revealed he has been working closely with Dick Johnson Racing in between Dunlop Series rounds, and has been leaning on experienced heads as he creates a more considered approach to driving.

“It’s been a little bit different this year, I’ve improved so much and I’ve worked so hard on myself over the off-season," he added.

“I’ve been on the sim just learning, and I’ve spent a lot of time up at DJR trying to learn from all the best up there.

“I’m trying to really think about my driving, not just going out and doing a lap. I need to really digest what I’m doing because hopefully when I make the step to the main game it’s going to be a hundred times harder than what it is at the moment.”

Allen finished second for the round behind Jack Perkins after claiming a dominant lights-to-flag victory in Race 2, however he struggled in Race 1 qualifying.

Starting 13th for Race 1, Allen took a mature approach to try and make the most of the situation not only in the race, but also going forward into the coming rounds.

“It was actually good that qualifying didn’t go my way yesterday, I could just try and reset, pick some cars off, get into some traffic, feel how the aero wash affects the cars, feel how the front tyre heats up," he said.

“It was a different day today, just managed the tyre and worked on a few different techniques.”

Allen has a 114-point series lead over Aaron Cameron heading into Round 4 of the season at Sandown, where Allen will start another new challenge in his young career.

The South Australian has been promoted from a DJR wildcard last year to a plum drive alongside Will Davison in the #17 Mustang for the Penrite Oils Sandown 500 and the Repco Bathurst 1000.