Daniel Morad (born April 24, 1990) is a Canadian racecar driver and YouTuber who currently competes in IMSA for Winward Racing in a Mercedes AMG GT3 in the GTD Class. He is notable for winning the 2007 American Formula BMW championship; the 2010 World Championship in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in La Conca, Italy; the 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Platinum Cup; and the 2017 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with Alegra Motorsports.
| Daniel Morad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality |  Canadian |
| Born | April 24, 1990 Markham, Canada |
| Pirelli World Challenge career | |
| Debut season | 2017 |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Car number | 2 |
| Starts | 26 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2017/2018 |
| Previous series | |
| 2008–2009 2008 2006–2007 | A1GP Atlantic Championship Formula BMW USA |
| Championship titles | |
| 2007 | Formula BMW USA |
Career
editKarting and Formula BMW
editMorad was born in Markham, Ontario, Canada. His career began in his native country during 1998 competing in several karting events. In his eight-year career in karts, Morad picked up a number of trophies, including the Canadian Formula Senior Championship and a Florida Winter Tour champion title, in the Pro-Shifter class, both of which were won in his final year in karting, 2005. He then moved up into Formula racing the following year in the form of Formula BMW, competing in its American series. In his début season, in which he participated in all fourteen rounds, he picked up a win in Mid-Ohio, a pole position, a fastest lap and a podium at the Lime Rock Park meeting. With a collection of 75 points, Morad finished 6th overall in the Drivers' Championship.
He switched teams the following year, joining the Italian EuroInternational. he won the title that year, taking six wins of a possible fourteen and scoring 523 points, more than the previous year albeit with a more generous points system than the previous year, nearly 100 points clear of runner-up Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez. 2007 also saw Morad drive for the Canadian A1 Grand Prix team taking the role of test driver at the South African, Mexican, Chinese and British meetings.
Atlantic Championship
editWith his Formula BMW USA title on his Résumé, Morad managed to get a drive at the EuroInternational Atlantic Championship team alongside Venezuelan Luis Schiavo. He finished 12th in the championship after leaving the team and the series with three races remaining in the season. He was 10th at the time. His best finish was 6th at Long Beach and the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.
A1 Grand Prix – The World Cup of Motorsport
editMorad raced for A1 Team Lebanon in the 2008–09 season. Although having previously driven in rookie sessions for A1 Team Canada, his grandfather was Lebanese and his father also was born in Lebanon so he was able to switch teams.[1] He completed every race for the team and scored 8 points, putting A1 Team Lebanon in 17th overall. Morad's best finish was 6th in the South African feature race.
GP3 Series
editWith A1GP's closing at the end of the season, Morad did not drive in any other series in 2009 but joined Status Grand Prix in the GP3 Series for 2010. He finished 12th in the GP3 series standings, and won the Silverstone sprint race. After sitting out the first round of the 2011 GP3 Series season, Daniel Morad signed on to contest the remainder of the season with Carlin Motorsport.[2] However, Morad parted ways with the team in July and was replaced by Callum MacLeod.[3]
Indy Lights
editMorad raced in the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights series with Team Moore Racing for one event in Edmonton.[4]
Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama
editMorad was given a second chance at a career when a cold call to the Alegra Motorsports team landed him a spot in the team's line up, just 1 week before the opening race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He scored an impressive double podium in his first race with a roof over his head. He went on to scoring a total of 9 podiums in 10 races, one of which being a dominant win on the streets of Toronto in torrential conditions. One DNF in Round 3 of the championship ultimately cost him the title in his debut season. Morad's efforts were enough to land him an opportunity to participate in the exclusive Porsche Young Drivers Academy.
Morad bounced back to win the 2016 Platinum class championship despite strong challenges from Scott Hargrove and Zacharie Robichon.
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
editAt the end of his 2015 campaign, Morad got a call from championship winning team, Samsung SUHD TV Racing, to sub in for the final 4 rounds of the championship, which helped the team jump from 3rd to 2nd place in the team championship.
NASCAR
editMorad competed in two NASCAR Pinty's Series events in 2016. He made his debut at Toronto driving the No. 06 Dodge, he started 3rd and finished 7th after leading 5 laps. Morad returned at Circuit Trois-Rivières, where he finished 5th.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
editIn 2016 Daniel Morad competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring driving the #24 Alegra Motorsports InSync Riley/BMW Daytona Prototype.[5] He brought the team up to 3rd place overall, just past the halfway point of the race in difficult conditions. Unfortunately, shortly after Morad jumped out of the car, the team ran into some trouble on track with slower traffic and then some electrical issues.
In 2017 he competed full time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Alegra Motorsport driving the #28 Porsche 991 GT3 R.[6] He won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTD category for Alegra Motorsports together with Carlos de Quesada, Jesse Lazare, Michael de Quesada and Michael Christensen[7] and finished 9th in the GTD drivers Championship.[8]
In 2018 he drove two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races with two different teams. He competed in the 2018 Sahlen's six hours of the Glen driving the #71 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for P1 Motorsports with Loris Spinelli and JC Perez.[9] They retired after 48 laps.[10] He also drove the #29 Audi R8 LMS with Kelvin van der Linde and Christopher Mies for Montaplast by Land Motorsport at the 2018 Petit le mans, finishing the race 26th overall and 6th in class.[11]
In 2019 he competed in the Michelin Endurance Cup with Montaplast by Land Motorsport scoring a best finish of 19th overall and 2nd in class at the 2019 Petit le mans.
In 2020 he competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona for WRT Speedstar Audi Sport driving the #88 Audi R8 LMS GT3 with Rolf Ineichen, Mirko Bortolotti and Dries Vanthoor. They ended up finishing 20th overall and 3rd in class.[12]
For the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, Morad was drafted in to replace Lucas Auer for Winward Racing after Auer suffered a back injury in a practice crash.[13]
Personal life
editMorad was born in the spring of 1990 in Ontario to Robin and Ramsin Morad. He has one sister, Kayla.[citation needed]
Racing record
editRacing career summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Bridgestone Racing Academy - F2000 | Ultra 94 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 195 | 1st |
| Formula BMW USA | AIM Autosport | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 72 | 6th | |
| Formula BMW World Final | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 4th | ||
| 2007 | Formula BMW USA | EuroInternational | 14 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 524 | 1st |
| Formula BMW World Final | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF | ||
| 2008 | Atlantic Championship | EuroInternational | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 12th |
| 2008–09 | A1 Grand Prix | A1 Team Lebanon | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17th |
| 2010 | GP3 Series | Status Grand Prix | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 12th |
| 2011 | GP3 Series | Carlin | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33rd |
| Indy Lights | Team Moore Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 26th | |
| 2015 | Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada - Platinum | Alegra Motorsports | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 165 | 2nd |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain | Samsung SUHD TV Racing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 18th | |
| 2016 | NASCAR Pinty's Series | Carlos de Quesada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 30th |
| Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada - Platinum | Porsche Centre Oakville / Alegra Motorsports | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 205 | 1st | |
| Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA - Platinum | Alegra Motorsports | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 72 | 12th | |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - Prototype | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 35th | ||
| 2017 | Pirelli World Challenge - GT | CRP Racing | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 172 | 13th |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | Alegra Motorsports | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 281 | 8th | |
| 2018 | Pirelli World Challenge - GT | CRP Racing | 15 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 237 | 6th |
| IMSA Prototype Challenge - LMP3 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 35th | |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | P1 Motorsports | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 43rd | |
| Montaplast by Land-Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2019 | Blancpain GT World Challenge America | Alegra Motorsports | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 12th |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - GT | Montaplast by Land-Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 92 | 28th | |
| 2020 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | WRT Speedstar Audi Sport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 34th |
| AIM Vasser Sullivan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | Alegra Motorsports | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1515 | 16th |
| 2022 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Al Manar Racing by HRT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Intercontinental GT Challenge | Al Manar Racing by HRT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 11th | |
| Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | Alegra Motorsports | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 620 | 36th | |
| 2023 | GT World Challenge America - Pro/Am | TR3 Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 62 | 11th |
| GT World Challenge America - Pro | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 7th | ||
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | Winward Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 189 | 61st | |
| Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1770 | 14th | ||
| 2024 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter | |||||||
| Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS | Winward Racing | ||||||||
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | |||||||||
| GT World Challenge Asia | Craft-Bamboo Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | ? | 2 | 43 | 15th |
* Season still in progress.
Complete GP3 Series results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Status Grand Prix | CAT FEA Ret |
CAT SPR 22 |
IST FEA 5 |
IST SPR 5 |
VAL FEA 19 |
VAL SPR 12 |
SIL FEA 7 |
SIL SPR 1 |
HOC FEA Ret |
HOC SPR 9 |
HUN FEA 22 |
HUN SPR 12 |
SPA FEA Ret |
SPA SPR 16 |
MNZ FEA 9 |
MNZ SPR 7 |
12th | 15 |
| 2011 | Carlin | IST FEA |
IST SPR |
CAT FEA 24 |
CAT SPR 14 |
VAL FEA 15 |
VAL SPR Ret |
SIL FEA DNS |
SIL SPR DNS |
NÜR FEA |
NÜR SPR |
HUN FEA |
HUN SPR |
SPA FEA |
SPA SPR |
MNZ FEA |
MNZ SPR |
33rd | 0 |
Complete Indy Lights results
edit| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Team Moore Racing | STP | ALA | LBH | INDY | MIL | IOW | TOR | EDM 15 |
EDM 11 |
TRO | NHM | BAL | KTY | LVS | 26th | 34 |
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
edit- ^ "Morad to switch to A1 Team Lebanon". A1GP.com. 2008-09-18. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ "Morad to Contest in Remainder of 2011 GP3 Series". WhoWon. 2011-05-17. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28.
- ^ Allen, Peter. MacLeod To Race For Carlin In GP3 For Remainder Of Season, The Checkered Flag, 19 July 2011, Retrieved 2011-07-20
- ^ Howden, Rob. The Insider Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, eFormulaCarNews, July 20, 2011, Retrieved 2011-07-20
- ^ . 2016-03-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20160327153708/https://www.imsa.com/sites/default/files/races/entry_lists/2016_WeatherTechChampionship_Sebring_PreRaceEntryList.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Daniel Morad (CDN) - All Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ Kelly, Paul (2017-01-31). "Alegra Motorsports Wins GTD Class In Rolex 24 At Daytona". IMSA. Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ "Daniel Morad | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ "Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen official entry list" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "6 h Watkins Glen 2018 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ "Petit Le Mans official results" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona unofficial results" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Dagys, John (27 January 2023). "Morad to Replace Injured Auer in Spare Winward Mercedes". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
External links
edit- Official website
- Daniel Morad career summary at DriverDB.com
- Daniel Morad driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Profile on ChampCar Atlantic Official website
- Profile on imsa.com
- https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/porsche-gt3-cup-challenge-canada/2016/