Kai Allen showed some promise during the first round of his rookie full-time Supercars season and a unique hobby became particularly handy in the rain.
Of the three rookies on show in Sydney, it was the youngest who left the harbour city with the most to smile about.
Allen made an instant impression by throwing his #26 Mustang into the top 10 in the opening qualifying session of the season, notably denying reigning champion Will Brown.
But come the race, the joy was over as the teenager suffered a sluggish getaway and could never recover in the short sprint and had to settle for 19th.
The longer Saturday night race was another learning experience as he had a tangle with Aaron Love on the opening lap and battled at the back of the pack.
But Allen ended the weekend on the front foot, securing his best solo Supercars finish of 13th.
Kai Allen on his dirt kart track in Mount Gambier. Image: Kai Allen
Whilst some rookies might have been caught out by suddenly finding themselves negotiating a wet track on slicks, Allen thrived, rising from 18th to 13th in the final 10 laps.
Having spent the summer building his own dirt kart track on a property in Mount Gambier, in addition to making his Super3 debut at a soaked SMP in 2022, he was well prepared for the challenge.
The Blue Lake boy explained driving on the ever-changing nature of the dirt requires a lot of similarities to what is needed in the rain steering any race car.
“The biggest thing is just adjusting to grip,” he said of racing in the wet.
“In a dirt kart or sprintcar or whatever you drive on dirt the condition always changes because its not a consistent surface with moving dirt and changing grip.
“Over the summer with me wetting the track and doing laps and feeling how it goes from tacky to slick, the adaptability and remembering where the grip was is big.
Alistair McVean and Kai Allen. Image: Peter Norton
“Racing dirt karts hanging the rear end out and sliding with the feeling of being out of control, but in control really came into play.
“I was sliding around, finding and trusting the grip and running different lines really helped and we made up a few spots.”
Allen explained building his own dirt track was a significant summer project that he uses for both enjoyment and driver training.
“It was a fun little project. One of my sponsors from Mount Gambier WFC Contacting got the old grater out to cut it down to get it banked and push all the dirt up top and I then spent hours in the Bobcat to make it smooth and cushion it up,” Allen said of his passion project that was an unexpected handy tool.
“We designed the shape off tracks I have driven before and it is coming out pretty good.
“I did lap after lap over the summer, driving on a different surface where you learn something and it was really enjoyable.”
Despite realising his dream, Allen knows the significant challenge has only just begun.
Although he lives in the Albert Park area, he has never raced the Grand Prix circuit before, but will use his typical relentless preparation to ensure he can start the short-sharp sprint round on the front foot on March 13-16.
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