THE gloves are off.
That’s Grove Racing rookie Kai Allen’s prediction for this weekend’s Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, where a season of vigorous Supercars racing is set to boil over.
It comes as there’s been a spike in on-track aggression this year, matched with a general tendency for more of a ‘play on’ approach from the stewards.
Allen was on the receiving end of plenty at Bathurst, where he was speared off the road by Brodie Kostecki, Will Brown and Jack Le Brocq.
There were plenty of battle scars on the #26 Penrite Mustang by the end of Bathurst. Pic: Mark Walker
Retaliation is not on the 20-year-old’s mind given he snuck into finals and now has the chance to be one of seven heading to Sandown still in the title hunt – but it’s a theme he’s mindful of.
“Anything can happen because I think there are some unhappy people from this year that have been touched up in many ways by guys that are in the 10, so I think there is going to be some payback going on when it matters,” Allen told V8 Sleuth.
“I personally have had a run-in with a few people so I’ll keep that in the back of my mind.
“But I’ve got nothing to lose, I’m 10th, so for me it’s just going full hammer and tong, leaving everything on the line at Gold Coast.
“I have never been there before… the guys have had fast cars there the last few years and to be a fighting chance would be pretty cool.
“But for me, there is no expectation.”
Allen pipped Cameron Hill and André Heimgartner for the 10th and final playoffs ticket by a mere three points.
The Undercut – The Bathurst 1000 Champion Edition
