Kai Allen Dominates Darwin Triple Crown for Second Supercars Win

Kai Allen has blitzed a hot grid to claim his second Supercars career win and his first race victory at the Darwin Triple Crown. After starting fifth in Saturday’s 70-lap, 200km race, the Grove Racing driver dominated the Hidden Valley Raceway, winning by a massive 8.6157 seconds under the beaming sun. It’s the young gun’s first win since Christchurch in April as Allen looks to build on last year’s glittering rookie season, when he finished fourth.

Thrilling Battle for Podium Positions

After an enthralling battle for the minor podium positions that went down to the last lap, pole-sitter Cam Waters nabbed second place, with Dick Johnson Racing driver Brodie Kostecki third. The initial battle for first place looked to be between Grove’s Matt Payne and Waters, but Allen continued to up the ante, nailing his pit-stops before making his move on lap 41, overtaking then-leader Waters. From there, the 20-year-old sped away from the chasers to claim victory in the second race of the weekend.

Waters and Kostecki's Challenges

Waters was looking for his second win in Darwin after claiming Friday’s sprint race, but couldn’t keep up with Allen as he battled with tyre issues. Kostecki’s third-placed finish was remarkable, considering he was dealing with an illness before the race. The 2023 champion’s problems were compounded when he struggled to use his water bottle. After being pulled out of his car at the end of the race, Kostecki was rushed to the doctor and didn’t make the podium celebration. “I think he was a bit crook so that probably saved me at the end there,” Waters conceded after holding off Kostecki.

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Other Notable Performances

Allen’s teammate Payne was given a five-second penalty for making a false start, but held strong to finish fourth. Last year’s champion Chaz Mostert was celebrating his 400th race on Saturday but slipped on teammate Ryan Wood’s oil soon after the start. Following a horror sprint race, where he finished 14th, championship leader Broc Feeney struggled once again, coming seventh on Saturday. Ryan Wood was the only driver to pick up a DNF when his Toyota Supra veered off course in the fifth lap and collected a mammoth amount of grass.