2025 betr Darwin Triple Crown

A double podium on Sunday afternoon has capped off a hugely successful weekend at Hidden
Valley Raceway for Penrite Racing, with rookie Kai Allen enjoying a breakthrough weekend and
Matt Payne moved closer to 2nd place on the Repco Supercars standings.

With the three races making up the betr Darwin Triple Crown, both drivers were able to secure a pair of podiums throughout the weekend, as Payne picked up top three finishes in Races 17 and 19, while Allen’s impressive results were highlighted by his maiden Supercars podium in Race 18 before claiming a career-high runner-up finish on Sunday.

Both drivers didn’t have the fastest of Fridays, as Payne ended up with the 12th and 13th fastest
times on the timesheets in each practice session, while Allen was a bit further down the line with 19th and 20th.

However, when it came to Saturday, the team clicked into gear as smart strategy helped both
drivers notch up solid results across both qualifying sessions and races.

During the morning’s qualifying sessions, Allen’s raw talent was on display as he put the #26 Ford Mustang inside the top 10 with 7th in Race 17 Qualifying 1 and 4th in Race 18 qualifying – a remarkable effort considering this weekend was his first ever visit to the Darwin-based circuit.

Payne also finished the morning’s session with decent times, qualifying 3rd and 13th respectively.

Saturday’s first race began with pure chaos as the safety car was called on the opening lap, but
each driver avoided the drama, and despite facing a challenge from Cam Waters, Payne
eventually found himself on his lonesome in third.

Allen had a tougher outing as he lost multiple places following his pit stop and wasn’t able to
recover, ultimately placing 11th by the chequered flag after a number of gruelling battles with other drivers.

That’s as bad as it got for Allen for the rest of the weekend though, as an electric start off the line in Race 18 saw him slot into 3rd. Although he dropped back to 5th following his pit stop, the teenager worked his way back into 3rd to secure his first podium in the Championship.

Payne’s race was a bit more dramatic as he moved up and down the field – an early stop helped
him into 3rd with 15 laps to go before he slowly lost a handful of places to eventually cross the line in 8th – a total of five places gained capping off a great recovery run for the Kiwi.

Although there were plenty of positives to come out of Saturday’s action, the team stepped up to
another level on Sunday, with Allen and Payne occupying the third row after qualifying 5th and 6th.

The team adopted different strategies for each driver, which paid dividends as Payne’s dual
undercut strategy saw him snatch a podium place, while Allen’s long stint helped him to an unlikely podium – the youngster’s first long stint proving pivotal to the 2nd place finish and the Hidden Valley lap record.

As a result of his incredible weekend, Allen has leapfrogged a number of drivers to jump up to 12th in the standings – less than 50 points off the top 10.

Penrite Racing itself edged closer to 2nd on the team standings, with just 31 points separating
them and Walkinshaw Andretti United.

With the betr Darwin Triple Crown being Supercars’ Indigenous Round, Penrite Racing contested the event in a dedicated livery, designed by Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) students Ella and Jamelia, with the artwork serving as a symbol of partnership, celebration of culture, and empowerment through education.

Penrite Racing was thrilled to be able to produce such a successful weekend in Larrakia Country, and having the girls on site at Hidden Valley enjoying the results.

The Repco Supercars Championship now has a two-week break before heading to North
Queensland for the NTI Townsville 500 from 11-13 July.