Allen wins but Kostecki steals thunder in 'gutsy' race

Kai Allen has claimed his second Supercars win with a dominant performance in Darwin. (Mark Horsburgh/AAP PHOTOS)

Kai Allen has blitzed a hot grid to claim his second Supercars career win and his first race victory at the Darwin Triple Crown.

After starting Saturday's 70-lap, 200km race in fifth place, the Grove Racing driver dominated Hidden Valley Raceway, winning by a massive 8.6157 seconds under the beaming sun.

It was the young gun's first win since Christchurch in April as Allen looks to build on last year's glittering rookie season, when he finished fourth.

Young gun Kai Allen gave the thumbs-up after his impressive victory at Hidden Valley Raceway. (Mark Horsburgh/AAP PHOTOS)

After an enthralling battle for the minor podium positions that went down to the last lap, pole-sitter Cam Waters nabbed second place, with Dick Johnson Racing driver Brodie Kostecki third.

Kostecki's podium finish was remarkable, considering he was dealing with an illness before the race.

His problems were compounded when his helmet malfunctioned, meaning he struggled to use his water bottle in the searing conditions.

After being pulled out of his car at the end of the race, the 28-year-old was rushed to the doctor and didn't make the podium celebration.

Brodie Kostecki, Thomas Randle released from medical centre after today's race#RepcoSC #Supercars https://t.co/Nxs9LS9hm1
— Supercars (@supercars) June 20, 2026

Team manager Tom Moore said it was one of the most gutsy performances he had witnessed.

"He (Kostecki) definitely thrives in adversity. Normally when he's angry about something, or he's sick, he performs at a very high level," Moore said.

"I'm sure Brodie's already talking about what we can do to make the car better tomorrow.

"He just needs some fluids topped up into him at the moment."

Despite battling illness, brave Brodie Kostecki managed to claim third position. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

The initial contest for first place looked to be between Grove's Matt Payne and Waters, but Allen continued to up the ante before making his move on lap 41, overtaking then-leader Waters.

From there, the 20-year-old sped away from the chasers to claim victory in the second race of the weekend, becoming the first driver to win from outside the top-four starting positions this season.

"I'm learning a bit more and understanding it (his car)," Allen said.

"I had a little bit to work on after the race yesterday, and ... (the Grove Racing team) sat down and worked out what we needed to do."

The quick-learning Kai Allen made hay while the sun shone in Darwin. (Mark Horsburgh/AAP PHOTOS)

Waters couldn't keep up with Allen as he battled with tyre issues, also receiving a bad sportsmanship flag for being overly aggressive against Payne, which the Tickford Racing star labelled as "very surprising".

Payne himself was given a five-second penalty for making a false start, but held strong to finish fourth.

Last year's champion Chaz Mostert was celebrating his 400th Supercars race on Saturday but slipped on oil from non-finisher teammate Ryan Wood's car soon after the start. Mostert recovered to finish sixth.

After a horror sprint race on Friday, when he finished 14th, championship leader Broc Feeney struggled again, coming seventh on Saturday.