He was doing 260km/h, in the wet, when a kangaroo jumped onto the track

2 hours ago 3

Kai Allen admits his heart skipped a beat, and it would be safe to assume the same applied to the kangaroo.

With five laps remaining in a chaotic Bathurst 1000 a fortnight ago, Allen and his Ford Mustang careered down Conrod Straight.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a kangaroo bounding across the track. He miraculously avoided a collision that would surely not have ended well for either the marsupial or the 20-year-old Grove Racing driver.

“It was pretty scary,” Allen said.

“I was doing about 260km/h, and he just jumped out of nowhere. You get that at Bathurst, a few kangaroos, especially as it was getting pretty late.

“Fortunately, I missed him.”

Allen said he was so close to the animal he “felt a flap” as he zoomed past it.

“I saw him at the last minute, steered to the left – just a little movement because obviously travelling that speed in the wet, you can easily lose it,” he said.

“I managed to keep control and stayed pretty calm. I was in the zone and just put it behind me because I obviously had a few laps to go.”

The harrowing near miss that could have rattled a seasoned veteran, but Allen kept his cool to finish eighth.

Macauley Jones in action at Bathurst a fortnight ago.

That composure partly explains why he is the youngest driver to qualify for Supercars’ new top-10 finals series, which starts on the Gold Coast this weekend.

“It’s something that I didn’t expect, but we’re through to the finals and there’s everything to play for,” the South Australian tyro said.

“For me, it’s about taking it race by race. I’ve got nothing to lose now.

“I don’t expect to dominate. There’s a lot of hard work to be done, but it’s all about getting me ready for years to come.”

‘You get that at Bathurst, a few kangaroos, especially as it was getting pretty late.’

Supercars driver Kai Allen

Allen is yet to win a Supercars race but has underlined his potential by twice finishing runner-up and twice coming home third.

Meanwhile, Albury driver Macauley Jones faces a nervous weekend on the Gold Coast as his partner, Presique, is at home expecting their first child any day.

“It’s a little bit hard for me to get home to regional Albury, so I’ll be racing,” the Camaro driver said.

“It would mean catching two flights, and they don’t always line up, so that’s just how it is, because I really want to be there for her.

“But my partner’s been around motor racing a long time, in her life and her career, and she understands the balance. It’s hard because there are 12 weekends of the year where I’m pretty much booked out.

“But hopefully the timing works out, and I can get back in time for the birth.”

The Gold Coast event is the opening round of the new three-stage finals series.

The top 10 drivers have had their points reset. Three drivers will be eliminated from the title race on the Gold Coast, then another three at Sandown, leaving four in contention for the season-ending grand final in Adelaide.

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