Mount Gambier motorsport talent Kai Allen has had a blockbuster weekend at the Repco Bathurst 1000, having made his Repco Supercars debut at the iconic Mount Panorama circuit while claiming the Dunlop Super2 Series round win.

Following successful stints in the Supercars practice sessions where he finished as high as fourth in Thursday’s co-driver session ahead of seven-time Supercars champion and current Red Bull Ampol Racing team principal Jamie Whincup, Allen suited up to get behind the wheel of the history making wildcard entry for the great race.

“That was really cool, it was my first go in that car at that track and we ended up pretty good I think. From there on we were just focusing on the race car,” Allen said.

“The co-driver session was really good, I walked away quite happy with that and quite happy to just go out there and have a crack with all the other guys, it was really good.”

Allen said he was blown away by the opportunity to tackle the mountain while combining it with his regular Super2 duties.

“It was unreal, it was such a great learning experience, the team was really good. It was quite hard jumping from both cars in the same weekend but we made it work,” Allen said.

“Qualifying was quite cool, I had to come straight out of race one in the Super2 car, had 10 minutes to regroup and then had to fire out for the whole session.”

After qualifying 25th for Sunday’s 161-lap outing, the third Shell V-Power Ford Mustang GT was driven up the grid five places to finish 20th by rising star Allen and experienced Supercars and five-time Bathurst driver Simona De Silvestro.

Anything can happen during what is claimed to be the toughest race in Australian motorsport and ‘The Mountain’ often throws up a number of challenges throughout the race, with just making the finish line after 161 laps and 1000km of action an achievement in itself.

“It was a good first stint in my run and we just chipped away racing all the big guys so it was quite cool,” Allen said.

“Simona had a bit of bad luck, she got turned around a couple of times which was a bit unfortunate and then I jumped back in to finish off the race.

“It was great just chipping away, bringing the car home, listening to all the messages and just being so consistent for that many laps, I have never done that before so it was really cool to tick all that off.”

With Allen’s debut run now in the books and fellow Shell V-Power Racing Team driver Anton DePasquale claiming a podium finish at the great race, the future is looking bright for the Mount Gambier youngster.

“It was my first ever Bathurst 1000 with a great team so it was really cool and hopefully we can do many more.”

“Team DJR were really good with prepping me with all that and everything for the great race, I’m sure that I would love to do it again with them,” Allen said.

While nothing has been made official, the rumour-mill is swirling with claims Allen is believed to have a development deal with Dick Johnson Racing which is expected to see the young gun as a DJR co-driver next year before potentially moving into a full-time seat with the team in 2025.

“We’ll just get in the Super2 this year, focus on the first couple of rounds next year and then see what happens leading into the middle to the end of next year, see if we can get another gig,” Allen said.

Meanwhile in the Dunlop Super2 Series, the local racing sensation qualified second for race one in which he finished in third place behind race winner Aaron Love and runner up Zak Best.

While again qualifying in second for race two, a five second penalty to Best for jumping the start meant he fell about 0.8 seconds behind Allen at the chequered flag to give the Eggleston Motorsport driver the win with Zach Bates rounding out the podium.

“I knew from the start that Zak Best jumped the start, so I knew that he would have a five second penalty, he was way up the road,” Allen said.

“I knew I just had to chip away and try and get to him.

“I just hung in there and came home with the round win.

“It was quite an eventful race with a lot going on but I was happy to walk away with (the win), close the championship up a little bit towards the end going into Adelaide.”

With one last round of the Dunlop Super2 Series left in the season in Adelaide from November 23-26, Allen is in second place behind front runner Best by only 30 points.

“I only did Super3 last year, it came down to the wire and I learnt a lot that year,” he said.

“I am not too fussed about the championship, Zak’s been strong all year so I can just do the best I can and the racing gods will decide.”

Allen had his Dunlop Super3 Series championship dream crushed last year when the front runner crashed out in the final round at Adelaide and was unable to finish the deciding race.

“I’m just going to do the best I can and make sure it doesn’t end like last year,” he said.