Cauchi encouraged by 'class act' Allen's Supercars start

Whilst he mightn't have the results to show for it in 2025, Penrite Racing Team Principal David Cauchi has still lauded Kai Allen's start to full-time life in the Repco Supercars Championship.

Leaving the second event of the 2025 season at the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint sitting 19th in points might come as a surprise to some, especially when teammate Matt Payne sits sixth in the standings.

However, the 2023 Super2 champion flew under the radar at Melbourne, finishing in 12th in both Race 5 and 6, and lined up seventh for Sunday's Race 7, which was abandoned due to weather.

It was a tough assignment for Allen's second weekend as a full-timer, tackling an Albert Park circuit he had never raced at before, however he progressed towards the front of the field as the weekend went on.

Although he couldn't crack a top 10 race result over the weekend, Cauchi has still been impressed with the 19-year-old's first accounts as a main game Supercars driver.

“Kai's doing a great job. Even at SMP, to be honest, he showed the class act that he is,” Cauchi told Supercars’ Cool Down Lap podcast.

 “You know, he'd never raced here before. This is a big circuit, lots of corners. We saw some superstars at the back of the grid.

“So for him, it was a mega weekend.”

Allen is the first to admit that the results haven't been what he's been looking for to kickstart his rookie season, especially given his pedigree in the Dunlop Series.

Debuting in 2022, Allen was the class of Super3, often challenging the midfield Super2 competitors in an older VE Commodore, however narrowly missed the title after crashing out of the Adelaide finale.

A move to Super2 in 2023 brought an immediate title victory, before narrowly missing out on going back-to-back last year.

Allen has already shifted attention to the ITM Taupō Super 440 next month, having flown to New Zealand in the aftermath of the Grand Prix weekend to familiarise himself with another new track.

"It was good to get my first Australian Grand Prix under my belt, but I don’t feel like we got the results that we deserved,” Allen said.

“For me, it was a massive learning curve. Every time I get out of the car, I’m learning more. It’s good that we finished all of the races. There was a lot of carnage too, I learned a lot with race craft, maximising the green tyre, so positive for me.“

"The results weren’t so positive, but I’m taking a lot out of these weekends, and I already can’t wait to get to Taupō for the next round.”