Supercars legend's message of support for Allen

Kai Allen has been left to rue a nightmare weekend at the Repco Bathurst 1000 that has seen him lose the lead of the Dunlop Super2 Series.

After Eggleston Motorsport worked tirelessly to repair the Coca-Cola Commodore following a big crash in Friday qualifying, Allen's car remained wounded until Saturday's race.

Whilst it wasn't fully repaired, the car was in the best shape it had been since the accident for Race 10 of the season, and Allen looked set to make his way through the field.

A blistering start saw him move from 18th on the grid to 13th by the time the field had even reached Mountain Straight, but it all went pear shaped on lap two.

Exiting The Dipper, the power steering let go on the reigning champion, sending him into the concrete for the second time in as many days.

The non finish proved absolutely disastrous for the 19-year-old, who has tumbled from first to third in the points standings with two races to go in the season.

"I had a good start, and the car actually felt okay. It wasn't flash, it wasn't going to be flash," Allen said after returning to the paddock.

"But just started getting into the race, just eased into it, and then the power steering failed at The Dipper and went straight into the wall.

"More damage to the car is not what you want, but I mean, after this weekend, you can't always win them."

Grove Racing co-driver and mentor Garth Tander sent Allen a message of support after what has arguably been his toughest weekend in Dunlop Series since making his Super3 debut in 2022.

Allen will be joining Matt Payne at the team in the Repco Supercars Championship next season, having been signed to a long-term deal in August, with future teammate Tander writing the following on Instagram: "Champions are defined by what they do in the face of adversity, you'll be back where you deserve to be in a heartbeat."

Having entered the weekend 126 points ahead of Walkinshaw Andretti United's Zach Bates, the weekend's events saw a 165-point swing the Canberran's way.

Bates now holds a 39-point advantage over Aaron Cameron, who himself surged back into contention with his maiden career win, with Allen now 42 points behind.

Allen was full of praise for the efforts of the Eggleston Motorsport crew who worked tirelessly to get the #1 Commodore back on track to at least salvage something from the weekend.

"The boys will do a mega job trying to get it right for Adelaide and bounce back," Allen said.

"I've got to focus on tomorrow now, so unfortunate for the Eggleston Motorsport team, massive thank you, I think they're up till 2 or 3am last night trying to get something.

"It wasn't for us this weekend, so bounce back Adelaide and see what we can do."

The 2024 Dunlop Series decider will be held from November 14-17 at the VAILO Adelaide 500.