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Kai Allen shines as Ford gets engine change for Bathurst

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
Cite

Doyle, M. (2026, October 8). Kai Allen shines as Ford gets engine change for Bathurst. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-08/bathurst-1000-supercars-kai-allen-fastest-practice-thursday/107244458

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-10-08 · by Michael Doyle

Quick Summary

Kai Allen set the fastest time in both Thursday practice sessions for the Bathurst 1000, leading all Ford drivers who received a new engine after tests showed power loss issues at high altitude. The change affects only Fords, with Toyota and Chevrolet engines remaining unchanged. Grove Racing's Matthew Payne had an early end to one session due to a garage floor oil leak.
Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kai Allen of Grove Racing set the fastest time in both practice sessions on Thursday for the upcoming Bathurst 1000, driving a Ford. Following tests revealing that Ford engines lose power at high altitude due to lower barometric pressure, Supercars approved an engine change developed by Triple Eight Race Engineering, Ford's homologation team, specifically for this weekend’s event. The modifications aim to ensure fair competition between Ford and other teams like Toyota, which was not mentioned as needing any such adjustments. Allen's performance highlights the potential impact of these changes on the race outcome scheduled for Sunday.

Written for “Ford Engine Change For Bathurst” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ford Engine Change For Bathurst
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 4 of 48 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different stages of the Bathurst 1000 race: one is about practice sessions and engine changes before the race, while the other covers key moments during the actual race.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different aspects and events related to the Bathurst 1000, with one focusing on Brodie Kostecki's pursuit of a record and an engineer's accident, while the other focuses on Kai Allen's performance and a Ford engine change.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different days of practice sessions and a crash involving different drivers, not the same specific incident.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 61/100
“Article A describes Kai Allen's performance during practice sessions, while Article B reports on Zach Bates winning pole position in the Top 10 Shootout qualifying competition.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different stages of the Bathurst 1000, with one focusing on practice sessions and engine changes while the other reports on qualifying results.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different stages of preparation and events leading up to the Bathurst 1000, with Article A focusing on practice sessions and an engine change announcement on October 8th, while Article B is about final preparations and the start of race day activities on October 10th.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 4461 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Michael Doyle
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 That is when the DJR team called in Kostecki for what would be his second-to-last stop for the race — and disaster struck.
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🔮 In short: Oscar Piastri is hoping McLaren will be more competitive during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend after a disappointing round last time in Malaysia.
🔮 ABC Sport will have a live blog of the Bathurst 1000 from lights out to the chequered flag on Sunday.
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Also by Michael Doyle
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Michael Doyle →

Topics

Ford Grove Racing Supercars Toyota the Bathurst 1000

Subjects

Ford ORG · 7× Supercars ORG · 5× Allen PERSON · 3× Toyota ORG · 3× Chevrolet ORG · 2× Grove Racing ORG · 2× Kai Allen PERSON · 2× ABC Sport ORG · 1× Triple Eight Race Engineering ORG · 1× the Homologation Teams ORG · 1×

Narrative

"The testing has identified a power loss on the Ford at lower Barometric pressure and as such Supercars have approved a change of ESD developed by the Ford Homologation team to correct this for the Bathurst event only."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08
🔮 ABC Sport will have a live blog of the Bathurst 1000 from lights out to the chequered flag on Sunday.
2026-10-08 · ABC News (AU)
Kai Allen shines as Ford gets engine change for Bathurst · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 0 hedged)

In short: Kai Allen produced the fastest time across both practice sessions on Thursday ahead of the Bathurst 1000. asserted
Allen → produce → Bathurst
A change has been made to the Ford engine for this weekend after testing found it was losing power at high altitude. asserted
it → make → altitude
ABC Sport will have a live blog of the Bathurst 1000 from lights out to the chequered flag on Sunday. asserted
Sport → have → Sunday
Kai Allen has fired the first warning shot ahead of Sunday's Bathurst 1000 with the fastest time across today's two practice sessions. asserted
Allen → fire → sessions
In perfect conditions at Mount Panorama, Allen topped the time sheets in the first practice session of the weekend with a time of 2:05.5460, more than three-tenths better than the next fastest. asserted
Allen → top → fastest
The blistering time for Allen, who drives a Ford for Grove Racing, comes after Supercars confirmed the engine in all Ford competitors would be changed for this weekend. asserted
engine → blister → weekend
Barometric pressure testing before last year's Bathurst 1000, and again before this weekend, found the Ford engine lost power at high altitude. asserted
engine → find → altitude
A change to the engine, developed by Triple Eight Race Engineering, which is Ford's homologation team, has been approved by Supercars to level the playing field this weekend. asserted
which → develop → field
"As you're aware, Supercars have conducted Barometric engine testing over the last 12 months and recently completed a further test," a note to teams read. asserted
note → conduct → teams
"The results of this test have been provided to the Homologation Teams following which consultation has taken place. asserted
consultation → provide → place
"The testing has identified a power loss on the Ford at lower Barometric pressure and as such Supercars have approved a change of ESD developed by the Ford Homologation team to correct this for the Bathurst event only." asserted
Supercars → identify → event
Six of the top 10 cars from Thursday's first session were Fords, with Chevrolets making up the other four spots, including PremiAir's Jayden Ojeda who was second fastest with a 2:05.8737. asserted
who → make → 2:05.8737
The fastest Toyota belonged to reigning Supercars champion Chaz Mostert who was 17th fastest for the number 1 Walkinshaw TWG Racing. asserted
who → belong → Racing
While Allen shone, it was not all smooth sailing for Grove Racing with Matthew Payne, last year's Bathurst 1000 winner, being called in early after his team found power steering fluid on the garage floor. asserted
team → shine → floor
Lochie Dalton, driving for the Chevrolet number 99 Erebus Motorsport, topped the co-drivers practice session later on Thursday with a 2:05.874. asserted
Dalton → drive → 2:05.874
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