Allen hits Queensland streets for first round victory

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Allen hits Queensland streets for first round victory

Mount Gambier racing sensation Kai Allen recorded his first Dunlop Super2 Series pole on the weekend at the 2023 NTI Townsville 500.

Allen placed first in race one to claim his inaugural race win in the 150th Super2 round with Eggleston Motorsport teammate Cameron Crick in second place while Aaron Seton rounded out the podium.

In race two Allen was runner up behind Anderson Motorsport driver Zak Best with third place awarded to Zane Morse.

Allen described the weekend’s performance as ‘unreal’.

“We got the round win, got the race win and a few little things so cannot ask for a much better weekend,” he said.

“I was fortunate to get my first ever race win in the Super2 category so I was pumped and also having Cameron Crick, my teammate and part of the Eggleston Motorsport crew, come second.

“I was happy with that and then to go on to get the race win I think we did a pretty good job on Saturday.

“I think it was a good weekend of racing, we barely got any red flags compared to the past couple of years, so we got a lot of green laps so I’m really happy with all the category and the drivers that stepped up a lot.

“Race one was really good, I think a lot of it came down to the qualifying, a lot of the quick guys were down the back which made it a lot easier for me.”

The young gun qualified fifth in qualifying for race one amid a red flag due to a collision which cut the session short for some of the other competitors.

“We obviously had a pretty good qualifying on the Saturday, I think we got pretty lucky with that red flag halfway through the session because I don’t think we executed it quite as well as we could have,” he said.

“The rest of the guys didn’t actually get to do a lap so a lot of quick guys were down the back which would have really muddled up the grid but made for a really exciting race later on that day.

“I was happy to start off on the front row, got a really good start and then we were fortunate to lead the whole race to the end.”

Even a mechanical issue could not stop the young driver from emerging victorious in race one.

“I had a brake pedal issue, so my brake kept getting longer and longer and it just had a brake master cyclinder start to get worse and worse, so I had to keep pumping that up down the straights,” he said.

“It made my job a little bit harder and even though I built myself a bit of a gap I was managing that so I think I was not too fussed about the cars, I was more worried about that.

“I was happy that it held on and that we were able to finish the race because I was just stressing the whole time, the brake pedal fails and you lose that victory.

“Once I got across the line it was a massive relief to get the win so I was happy that we got the car home.”

Allen said a change to the rear of the car in qualifying two could have contributed to placing runner up in the race behind Best, who took the lead on the 22nd lap to claim the win.

“We went into qualifying two on Sunday and made a little change to the rear of the car which really helped the qualifying car and I really liked,” he said.

“I thought I would take a gamble and try and get a little bit more speed out of that in the race, but I think we went a little bit too far and went the wrong way.

“I think if I had my time again in race two I would have left it the same as the race one car and I think that would have helped me towards the end of the race.

“It’s all a part of the learning and we walked away second in that race, so I cannot be too hard on myself, but I think it would have obviously have been cool to get that win.

“We played it smart and let Zak go and win the race and not get caught up in any dramas and walk away with a round win.”

Allen told The SE Voice he could not confirm the rumours circulating about his potential Repco Supercars Championship debut with Dick Johnson Racing as a wildcard entry.

“I have not heard anything yet, but there is a lot of talk going around about that so that’d be bloody cool,” he said.

“I have not had any phone calls yet so I will definitely be keeping an eye on my phone, but I would love to.

“I’m not sure at this stage, obviously I will be waiting to hear but that would be unreal so fingers crossed.”

Allen is currently seventh in the championship going into his next race, which is the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 held from September 15-17.

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