A surprise Grand Finalist in his rookie campaign, the 20-year-old is currently outside the Finals Series cut-off in 11th despite flashes of stunning speed.
Allen was denied a shot at a maiden career win in the Sydney opener when he suffered a steering failure – said to be the result of earlier contact – while sitting second.
A yo-yo weekend followed at Albert Park, before Taupo’s action began with first-lap damage that had him the last classified finisher in the opening race.
While it’s so far not been the smooth second season progression the driver and team had been hoping for, Brenton Grove is hardly concerned.
“Kai speaks for himself with what he did in the Finals,” Grove said at Taupo.
“He’s got a bit of fresh air this year with Riccardo (Corte, race engineer) coming in as well and helping oversee the team.
“It’s funny, [Kai] was talking about his onboard and his data from last year and saying how embarrassed he was looking at it, based on how much progress he’s made since then.
“It’s exciting for us. The biggest problem is just trying to calm him down because he’s so eager to get his first race win and good results going.
“But it’s going to come at some point. The process is what matters.”
Allen vowed to learn from a Taupo event in which he qualified sixth and ninth and finished 23rd and eighth in the respective races.
“Not our strongest weekend, with qualifying pace falling short of expectations, then suffering a bent steering arm in Race 8,” he said.
“We will look at the drawing board and press forward for next weekend.”
The progression of Allen is under increased spotlight amid swirling uncertainty over the future of Grove’s star driver Matt Payne.
Payne appears to be on his way out of the team in favour of a move to General Motors and Team 18, with the only debate around whether it’ll be a 2027 or ’28 departure.
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