Supercars 2025: Cooper Murray, Kai Allen, dream big as they join the grid for the first time

They are the new kids on the Supercars grid, but that doesn’t mean Kai Allen and Cooper Murray can be taken lightly. Meet the 2025 championship rookies inside.

Rebecca Williams

@BecHeraldSun

7 min read

February 18, 2025 - 5:00PM

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They are the new kids on the Supercars grid, but that doesn’t mean Kai Allen and Cooper Murray can be taken lightly.

Meet the 2025 championship rookies here.

COOPER MURRAY

He is the stonemason by day who feels his shot at a full-time seat in Supercars has been a long time coming, but Erebus Motorsport rookie Cooper Murray is adamant he won’t be on the grid to “just make up the numbers”.

Murray will make his main game debut in Supercars at the age of 23 this year, jumping into the seat vacated by 2023 champion and Bathurst 1000 winner Brodie Kostecki.

The Melbourne-born racer has already had a solid taste of Supercars action, impressing in his appearances in a Triple Eight wildcard last year.

Racing in the Supercheap Auto wildcard alongside Supercars great Craig Lowndes, Murray finished fifth at the Sandown 500 and 14th in the Bathurst 1000 before subbing for Jack Le Brocq at Erebus in the final round at Adelaide.

Murray said he was ready to prove he belonged in Supercars.

“It’s been a long-time coming in my career and I’ve been working very hard to get to this point,” Murray said.

Cooper Murray will make his main-game debut for Erebus Motorsport in Supercars this year. Picture: Getty Images

“So to get here now …. I will be putting my best foot forward to make sure I come out strong.

“(The team) just want me to go out there and do the best that I can and leave nothing on the table and don’t be afraid to rub a few bumpers either, it’s all part of it, and make sure you make yourself known that you are not here to make up the numbers.”

Murray described his driving style as “aggressive” and said he had already learned a lot from his stints behind the Supercars wheel last year about what to expect.

“You watch the drivers like Shane (van Gisbergen), Cam (Waters) and Chaz (Mostert) and they are aggressive and smart,” Murray said.

“You know how they are going to race you …. if you leave the door open they are going to take it.

“That’s how I (like to race) as well. Just go for any opportunity that is available and don’t leave anything on the table.”

Murray started racing go-karts when he was nine, but was “born into a racing family”.

“I was at a racetrack from the moment I was born, both my parents raced go-karts, that’s how they met,” Murray said.

“When I was born, dad was racing (Holden) HQs at the time, so I was always at the track.

Cooper Murray chats with Craig Lowndes, who he raced with in a Triple Eight wildcard in 2024. Picture: Supplied.

“As a kid, I remember being at Calder Park or Sandown and pushing dad’s tyres around and cleaning the car …. I really had no choice other than to go motor racing.”

Off track, Murray works as a stonemason for his “day job” in his family’s business when he is not racing, which keeps him busy when he’s not behind the wheel.

“That’s something that surprises a lot of people,” Murray said.

“It keeps me busy when I am not racing and also helps out with the family business. Mum and dad are both in the business.

“I do all the lettering on the tombstones and help install them as well.

“I have been working at Lodge Bros (Stonemasons) for six years. I do enjoy it. It keeps me busy and it’s also a distraction away from the track as well, it keeps you doing other things and you’re not bored sitting at home.”

Murray, who named triple Supercars champion turned-IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin as his racing idol, was clear on his long-term goals in the sport – and was also aiming high for his first season.

Cooper Murray will make his full-time Supercars debut at age 23. Picture: Getty Images

“My long-term goal is to obviously win a championship and Bathurst. That’s the ultimate and I would say every driver would say that as well,” Murray said.

“But short term, if we can be in the finals either this season or next season that would be really good. If we can end this season with consistent top-fives and top-10s that would be a really strong rookie debut.”

KAI ALLEN

Kai Allen will be the only teenager in the field this year in his full-time Supercars debut, but the Grove Racing young gun is ready to “go back hard” if his more seasoned rivals try to intimidate him on track.

The 19-year-old arrives on the Supercars grid with two Bathurst 1000 starts under his belt and as a Super2 record-holder.

Allen made his debut in the Great Race alongside Swiss racer Simona de Silvestro in a Dick Johnson Racing wildcard in 2023, the same year he became the youngest ever champion in the Super2 feeder series.

The teenager teamed up with Will Davison for DJR at Mount Panorama last year before making his solo Supercars debut in the season finale in Adelaide when he subbed for a concussed Richie Stanaway, who he has replaced at Grove.

Allen admitted he got “beaten up a little bit” when he took to the track in Adelaide, but knows he can’t take a step back.

“I always pushed myself to race the older kids and it feels like I’m going back to karting or Super2 when I was one of the youngest like I will be this year, I will be one of the youngest out there,” Allen said.

“As you can sometimes see, the rookies can get beaten up, but …. you have got to go race hard and put the age and the experience aside and go out there and give it your all.

Teenage young gun Kai Allen will make his Supercars debut for Grove Racing in 2025. Picture: Getty Images

“In Adelaide when I had my debut race …. I got beaten up a little bit, but it is just part of it and you have got to go back hard and show them that you are prepared to give it your all.

“If they want to beat you up then you have got to give it back if you can without being too dirty.

“To get out there and get amongst it with the big guys is going to be pretty cool.”

After his Super2 title win in 2023, Allen finished third last year as he was quickly snapped up to partner Kiwi Matt Payne for form one the youngest pairings on the grid.

Allen felt he had a solid grounding in Super2 and his enduro appearances to launch into his Supercars career.

“The grounding that I have had through Super2 has really helped me to get two years at a very high level as Super 2 is super competitive at the moment,” Allen said.

“To do the wildcard and the enduro with Shell V Power Racing team has put me in a really good spot leading into this year with Penrite Grove Racing to give it my all in my rookie year.

“The biggest thing for me this year is to get some good experience under my belt. Obviously doing Super2 was really good and the enduros, but I haven’t been to a lot of tracks.

“My biggest goal is to try and put my team in the right spot in the team’s championship. I think if I can put a couple of really good results together along with Matty, my teammate, we can put ourselves in a really good spot up on the grid.

“If I could potentially get top five top-10s and hopefully a couple of podiums would be ideal.

“My long-term goal is to be Supercars champion …. hopefully it will happen down the track, but I have got the right team around me and the right personnel to try and do that.”

Teenager Kai Allen will make his full-time Supercars debut for Grove Racing this year. Picture: Getty Images

Hailing from Mount Gambier, Allen is from a sporting family with his two older sisters, Sienna and Nyah, playing elite-level netball.

Allen lives in Melbourne with his sister, Nyah, who is a training partner with the Melbourne Mavericks in Super Netball.

“It’s good that I have got that company, so I’m not by myself, but also we look after each other and cook meals and keep ourselves on top of our nutrition,” Allen said.

“It keeps me fit and keeps me strong and nice and healthy.

“I will go and watch Nyah as much as I can and then my sisters normally come to Bathurst, it’s a cool family trip, they come up and watch that – they have done that the last couple of years.

“We always support each other as much as we can and when we can’t make it, we watch from afar and support each other along the way.”

Like Murray, Allen looked up to McLaughlin as a young racer and doesn’t forget the call he received from the Supercars champion before his first Bathurst start.

Kai Allen was the youngest ever Super2 championship winner. Picture: Getty Images

“I always looked up to Scotty McLaughlin, I just really loved his personality, what he stood for, he was always very humble but very driven and that is something that I always saw in myself,” Allen said.

“I am a very humble person and I appreciate people that help me and I always talk to anyone I can, but then I am also very determined and want to win and want to do what it takes to win as well.

“Getting to race for the Shell V Power Racing team was really cool because he spent a lot of years there and was very successful there.

“So, when I got to do my first Bathurst he actually gave me a call on the Friday and wished me all the best and gave me a few wise words to say ‘Just enjoy it and soak it all in as you only get to do Bathurst for your first time once’ and that was something very cool that I got to experience and get the guy that I looked up to for so many years to ring me and wish me all the best for my first Bathurst.

“I am a very humble person and I appreciate people that help me and I always talk to anyone I can, but then I am also very determined and want to win and want to do what it takes to win as well.”