Kai Allen has claimed a commanding victory in Race 18 of the 2026 Supercars Darwin Triple Crown, producing a clinical drive through the field to secure his second win of the season at Hidden Valley Raceway.
Starting fifth on the grid, the Grove Racing young gun steadily worked his way forward before making a decisive move on Cam Waters for the lead on Lap 41. Once in clean air, Allen pulled away from the field to take the chequered flag by more than eight seconds.
Waters continued his strong Darwin form to finish second after leading the early stages of the race, while Dick Johnson Racing’s Brodie Kostecki completed the podium despite battling illness throughout the weekend. Kostecki required medical attention after the race and was unable to immediately conduct post race interviews.
Grove Racing’s Matt Payne recovered impressively to finish fourth after serving a five second penalty for a false start. The New Zealander remains in the championship hunt with another valuable points haul.
The race featured several key moments, including a fierce battle between Waters and Payne following the first round of pit stops. Waters was later shown a sportsmanship flag after a defensive move while protecting the race lead. Allen capitalised on the fight, first moving past his teammate before hunting down and passing Waters for the lead.
Defending champion Chaz Mostert crossed the line in sixth during his milestone 400th Supercars start, while championship leader Broc Feeney salvaged seventh after a difficult qualifying session. Feeney’s championship advantage has now been reduced to just 39 points over Payne heading into Sunday’s final race of the Darwin weekend.
Race 18 Top Five
- Kai Allen (Grove Racing)
- Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
- Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing)
- Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
- Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
With one race remaining at Hidden Valley, the battle for the 2026 Supercars Championship is heating up, and Kai Allen has firmly inserted himself into the conversation with another standout performance.
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