Allen would like to say goodbye to Eggleston

Kai Allen has the chance to make Super2 history this weekend, but that’s not his main focus, it’s putting Eggleston Motorsport away.

After starting the year with three straight wins, it looked like Allen was in a league of his own.

But a strange series of events created a hellish weekend in Bathurst, meaning the reigning champions are on the back foot for the final.

After a nightmare Bathurst 1000 with a crash in qualifying and an incident in Race 2 due to power steering failure, a huge 138-point lead has turned into a 42-point deficit behind Zach Bates and Aaron Cameron for the reigning champions .

Allen is in a similar position to where he made history in Adelaide last year when he overturned a 30-point deficit to Zak Best to take the title.

However, the championship is not central.

After seeing his Eggleston Motorsport team work relentlessly since the qualifying crash, Allen is just looking to enjoy his final weekend with the Victorian team before making the move to Supercars in 2025.

“We’re in a similar place to last year and hopefully we’ve used up all our bad luck, but there’s no real pressure,” Allen told Auto Action.

“I just want to enjoy my last race with the Eggleston crew.

“I’ve been with them for three years now and Ben, Rachel and the crew are like family, so it will be a sad moment on Sunday when I do my last race with them.

“It will be a bit emotional because of all the effort and struggle we have had to put in.

“Just the work ethic and support I got behind me at Bathurst was phenomenal

“I don’t think they’ve had a break in the last few weeks so that set me up to go hard in Adelaide and finish on a high, which rewarded them with some good results.

“I don’t count the title, but it’s not the most important thing on my mind.

“The main thing I want to do is just enjoy it and whatever happens, happens.”

Everything was on track for Allen to ease his path to becoming the first driver ever to win consecutive Super2 titles.

After winning the first two races in the Bathurst 500, the No. 1 enjoyed a formidable advantage when returning to Mount Panorama.

However, a crash during qualifying under the tree derailed the weekend and after a miraculous rebuild, Allen managed to take a bruised ZB Commodore to 14th.

Despite a disappointing qualifying, Allen enjoyed a rocket start in Race 2 and it looked like things were about to turn around.

However, his hopes were dashed on lap 2 when a power steering failure sent him into the concrete towards Forest’s Elbow.

Allen has reflected on what happened on the mountain and especially felt for the team, without affecting his self-confidence.

“When we pulled into Bathurst we felt quite comfortable,” Allen reflected.

“I always want to push myself and the team and leave no stone unturned and that’s what stood out to me at Bathurst.

(In qualifying) I probably pushed a little too hard for the car I had and the mountain bit quite hard.

“I just kind of bumped the fence a little bit approaching the tree and that caused me to throw sideways right into the fence.

“I’m still gutted for the team because I didn’t have to make sure I finished fifth, but that’s what happens when the competition is so fierce.

“I don’t understand how the team got it fixed and working in three hours.

“On Sunday I turned right and the steering wheel got stuck and went straight into the fence. It was no one’s fault and something bizarre.

“It created a lot of work for the poor Eggleston crew and Ben and Rach were brilliant.

“They stripped the car and I drove with Ben to Mount Gambier, where James White went through everything and repaired it.

“Now it’s just about putting it back together and being almost ready to go.

“Huge credit to everyone at Eggleston Motorsport, they have done an incredible job.

“Bathurst was not a weekend for us in Super2 and Supercars, so whatever curse there was, hopefully we have used up all our bad luck before Adelaide.”

Although Allen knows the track is very similar to the one where he made history last year, he insists it is not the first thing on his mind with the arrival of Supercars in 2025.

“I’ve been to a lot of national title fights and know how to win and lose them,” he said.

“You saw me in Super3 when I had the unlosable championship and lost it.

“I just want to enjoy my last race with the Eggleston team at one of my favorite tracks.

“I would still like to win again and be the first to go back-to-back, but you can’t control everything.

“I will leave everything on the table and do my best. If it falls my way, that’s great, and if it doesn’t, it wasn’t meant to be.

“Hopefully the gods will be kind to us this time.”

VAILO Adelaide 500 Supercars schedule

Exercise 1: 1: J. Courtney 1:19.6835 2: D. Reynolds +0.1553 3: N. Percat +0.3242

Exercise 2 – Fri 13.10-13.40

Qualification – Fri 5.35pm-5.50pm

Exercise 3 – Sat 10am-10.30am

Top 10 Shootout – Sat 12.35-13.05

Race 23 (78 laps) – Sat 3.20pm

Qualifying – Sun 10.20-10.35

Top 10 Shootout – Sun 12.35-13.35

Race 24 (78 laps) – Sun 3.15pm

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