The Taree local purchased a brand new Ford Mustang TA2 and will complete the entire season, having recently shaken the car down at Queensland Raceway.

It will be fielded as a full privateer effort, with Garland preparing and running the car himself – as he has done in Aussie Racing Cars.

Garland enjoyed extensive time behind the wheel of the new Mustang at Queensland Raceway, which he said “performed faultlessly”.

“I want to continue challenging myself, and TA2 is a whole new level of competition in which I can go and do that,” said Garland.

“It’s a bucket list category and something we’ve wanted to do for a while now, it was just a matter of getting the timing right.

“On first impressions I felt really comfortable and at home in the car, certainly a bit more intuitive to me than a TCR for example.

“It was great to have some of the guys from HCC there to make sure it all ran smoothly for us.”

Garland noted that the decision to run TA2 as opposed to the main Trans Am series was a simple one.

“Starting out in TA2, as opposed to Trans Am, allows us to learn the intricacies of running these cars in a slightly lower pressure environment.”

“With that said, the entry list is looking extremely competitive so I’m really looking forward to getting ourselves up the front and some big battles.”

Garland claimed the 2025 Aussie Racing Cars championship in dramatic fashion, colliding with title rival Joel Heinrich at the final corner of the last race.

The 2025 TA2 Muscle Cars Series commences on March 13-15 at The Bend Motorsport Park as part of the AASA Hi-Tec Oils Super Series.