Kai Allen beats Brodie Kostecki to maiden Supercars victory
Kai Allen beat Brodie Kostecki to his maiden Supercars Championship victory in the first race of the ITM Christchurch Super440 weekend in New Zealand.
The Grove Racing driver started fourth, while Kostecki started second and managed to take the lead as pole sitter Matt Payne made a slow start.
The safety car was called into action at the end of the first lap following a start crash between Macauley Jones, David Reynolds and Cameron Hill.
There was confusion regarding the safety car boards as some drivers slowed down before others, with Payne losing two places to Ryan Wood and Allen.
As the race resumed, Kostecki headed Wood and Allen and Payne.
Allen decided to pit early and only fit two tyres compared to his rival’s choice of four new tyres.
The Ford Mustang driver emerged in the lead, with Kostecki rejoining close to five seconds behind in second place after his stop.
Kostecki got closer and closer to Allen towards the end of the race, but it was not enough as the Grove Racing driver crossed the finishing line first to claim an emotional maiden win.
Kostecki was just 0.7 seconds behind in the end, with Walkinshaw TWG Racing’s Rood just over a second behind in third.
Payne made it two Grove Racing Fords in the top four, while Anton De Pasquale and James Golding rounded off the top six.
The second race of the weekend starts at 12:45 local time/02:45 CEST on Saturday.
