His father Gianluca is also a racecar driver, as well as the owner of steel company Aceros Olarra.[3]
Career
Following a spell in karts, Roda made his car racing debut in 2011, driving for Cram Competition in the Formula Abarth Series.[4] His debut season proved to be challenging, as Roda scored a best finish of ninth at Imola and ended up 19th in the Italian standings, but he would return with Prema Powerteam the following year.[5] The Italian failed to score any podiums despite a smaller grid size, finishing ninth in both the Italian and European championships. For his third season in 2013 (a partial campaign) Roda returned to Cram, winning a race at Misano.[6]
Roda moved into GT racing in 2014, driving for AF Corse in the GTS class of the International GT Open alongside a revolving cast of teammates.[7] A successful season followed, with seven podiums, which included two class wins, earning Roda the GTS title. For 2015, the Italian moved to AF Corse's European Le Mans Series squad, partnering Marco Cioci and Ilya Melnikov.[8] The trio combined for a patchy season, failing to finish twice, though a win at the final round would bring them to fourth place in the standings.[9]
After a year out of racing, Roda returned to the ELMS in 2017, driving in the LMGTE category for Spirit of Race.[10] Despite scoring a victory at Spa, Roda and his teammates ended the season last of all full-time entrants. A move to Proton Competition followed, with whom Roda would race in both the ELMS and the 2018–19 WEC season.[11][12] Racing alongside his father Gianluca and pro driver Matteo Cairoli in the former, Roda would be part of a lineup that finished five of the six races on the podium, coming out on top in a title battle against JMW Motorsport.[13] In the WEC "Super Season" however, a disqualification coupled with a points reset for the opening four rounds set the team back, as Roda ended his campaign 19th in the standings. During the pandemic-affected 2020 season, Roda raced in the Endurance category of the Italian GT series. Together with Ferrari drivers Alessio Rovera and Antonio Fuoco he would take two victories on their way to the championship.[14]
During the 2021 and 2022 seasons Roda moved into the SRO world, driving in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance and Sprint Cups.[15][16] These two years yielded little success for the Italian, who was downgraded to an FIA Bronze rating ahead of 2023.[17] That year, Roda switched into prototype racing, driving for Proton in the ELMS's LMP2 Pro-Am category.[18] Having shown strong qualifying pace in the all-bronze sessions throughout the year, Roda took his maiden pole at Portimão.[19] Having finished second in the LMP2 class of the Asian Le Mans Series during the winter, Roda remained in the ELMS in 2024 whilst also moving into the LMGT3 category of the WEC, partnering Dennis Olsen and Mikkel O. Pedersen in a Proton-fielded Ford Mustang GT3.[20][21][22][23]
^Dagys, John (January 17, 2024). "Proton Sets Ford LMGT3 Lineups". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
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