Kody Garland has started the 2021 Aussie Racing Cars season in superb fashion.
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The 20-year-old, from Tinonee, converted a pole position into a race win in the opening round of the series at Bathurst's Mount Panorama last weekend.
This was the only race on the circuit on Saturday to be impacted by rain. The heavens opened up just as the 32 car field left the pits for the warm-up lap.
"The first lap was a bit nerve-wracking, I'm in the first car hitting ever corner at full speed, plus I had to gauge myself how wet it was and what the conditions were," Kody explained.
"The first couple of laps I was taking it easy, taking no risks but making sure I was still in the lead.
"After that I got into a rhythm and got the gap (ahead of the car behind)."
He won the six lap race by five seconds.
Kody revealed the car suffered from a cam shaft issue during the race.
"It was the cap that holds the cam shaft that had pulled the thread out of the motor," Kody said.
"That basically lifted, oil was everywhere and the car caught fire when I got back (to the pits).
"It was running on three cylinders and I still won the race."
The second race started three minutes earlier than scheduled, which wasn't ideal for the crew to rectify the issue.
"We would have made the race but we only had one hour to swap the motor over," Kody said.
"I got there when the cars were already on the track so I had to start from pit lane instead of pole position."
In just six laps, he turned around a 32nd place start into a 10th place finish.
"It was a shame because I feel I would have walked away with the round win but having that 10th position in race two hurt for points... I think I finished about fourth (overall)," Kody said.
"It's still an achievement but it wasn't what it should have been."
To add to his already gruelling weekend, Kody competed in the opening round of the Toyota 86 series.
Due to scheduling, he finished the first Aussie Racing Cars race and jumped straight into his 86 for qualifying. This happened again the following day, where an Aussie Racing Cars race led into a Toyota 86 race. In this race, Kody finished fourth.
"It's hard to bring your driving capability back, particularly in the 86," Kody said. "They've got such a different driving style. We could have done a lot better in the 86 but the transition between the two is like jumping out of a Ferrari into a bus."
Kody was part of a strong field in the 86 races, headlined by Supercars alumni Warren Luff and Chris Pither. "It was really competitive," he said.
While he didn't get the results he wanted in this category, Kody is confident of improvement as he won't have double duties going forward.
"That will give me time to focus on one car," Kody said.
He said the Skyline and The Chase were the best sections of the famed track to race on.
"I made up a lot of time on everyone there," he said.
Kody showed on numerous laps of the Aussie Racing Cars class how the Mustang handled exceptionally well across the top of the mountain, even in wet conditions.
He was pleased with his performances across the weekend. "It was unreal, I was really happy with what we achieved on the weekend. It was good to see the preparation pay off, we worked really hard to get these results," Kody said.
The series heads to Symmons Plains in Tasmania in mid-April.
"We had some good results there last time so I'm hoping we can back that up... taking the round out would be awesome," Kody said.
Since the 2020 Aussie Racing Cars season was reduced to one round due to the global pandemic, Kody purchased a Toyota 86 to race.
"We didn't intend on running in two series but we ended up with two cars," Kody said.
It was unreal, I was really happy with what we achieved on the weekend. It was good to see the preparation pay off, we worked really hard to get these results
- Kody Garland, Aussie Racing Cars and Toyota 86 series competitor
He raced in the 86 series finale at Bathurst in October. Coming second on the final lap, he was wiped out on the final corner. "I guess you could call this a revenge round," he laughed.
He's thrilled with the performance of the 2017 Mustang so far.
"We got it second hand but it was in good condition," Kody said.
"I've only raced it four times now so I'm still getting used to it and finding what set-up works.
"I think we've nailed it at Bathurst now, for the amount of time I've done in it."
He's accompanied to each race meet by a "mixed match" support crew.
"They're blokes that aren't normally around racing but they just enjoy it," Kody said. "They're a great help and I take them around with me and get the job done."
Kody is a qualified tradesman and auto electrician at Advanced Automotive in Taree.
