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
NationalityCanada Canadian
Born (1990-04-24) April 24, 1990 (age 34)
Markham, Canada
Pirelli World Challenge career
Debut season2017
Racing licence FIA Gold
Car number2
Starts26
Wins4
Poles3
Fastest laps2
Best finish1st in 2017/2018
Previous series
2008–2009
2008
2006–2007
A1GP
Atlantic Championship
Formula BMW USA
Championship titles
2007Formula BMW USA

Career

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Karting and Formula BMW

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Morad 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

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With 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

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Morad 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

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With 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

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Morad 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

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Morad 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

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At 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

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Morad 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

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In 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

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Morad was born in the spring of 1990 in Ontario to Robin and Ramsin Morad. He has one sister, Kayla.[citation needed]

Racing record

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Racing career summary

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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

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(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

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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

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Points
2016 Alegra Motorsports P Riley Mk XXVI DP Dinan (BMW) 5.0 L V8 DAY
SEB
11
LBH
LGA
BEL
WGL
MOS
ELK
COA
PET
35th 21
2017 Alegra Motorsports GTD Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 DAY
1
SEB
10
LBH
12
AUS
7
BEL
10
WGL
7
MOS
15
LIM
3
ELK
11
VIR
9
LGA
16
PET
2
8th 281
2018 P1 Motorsports GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY
SEB
MOH
BEL
WGL
12
MOS
LIM
ELK
VIR
LGA
PET
43rd 40
Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Audi 5.2 L V10 DAY
SEB
MOH
BEL
WGL
MOS
LIM
ELK
VIR
LGA
PET
6
2019 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport GTD Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi 5.2 L V10 DAY
22
SEB
4
MDO
DET
WGL
8
MOS
LIM
ELK
VIR
LGA
PET
2
28th 92
2020 WRT Speedstar Audi Sport GTD Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi 5.2 L V10 DAY
3
DAY
SEB
ELK
VIR
ATL
MDO
CLT
PET
LGA
SEB
34th 51
AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY
DAY
SEB
ELK
VIR
ATL
10
MDO
CLT
PET
LGA
SEB
2021 Alegra Motorsports GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY
9
SEB
12
MDO
10
DET
10
WGL
5
WGL
5
LIM
ELK
LGA
LBH
VIR
8
PET
4
16th 1515
2022 Alegra Motorsports GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY
20
SEB
9
LBH
LGA
9
MDO
DET
WGL
MOS
LIM
ELK
VIR
PET
36th 620
2023 Winward Racing GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY
13
SEB
LBH
MON
WGL
MOS
LIM
ELK
VIR
IMS PET
61st 189
2024 Winward Racing GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY
1
SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET

References

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  1. ^ "Morad to switch to A1 Team Lebanon". A1GP.com. 2008-09-18. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
  2. ^ "Morad to Contest in Remainder of 2011 GP3 Series". WhoWon. 2011-05-17. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28.
  3. ^ Allen, Peter. MacLeod To Race For Carlin In GP3 For Remainder Of Season, The Checkered Flag, 19 July 2011, Retrieved 2011-07-20
  4. ^ Howden, Rob. The Insider Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, eFormulaCarNews, July 20, 2011, Retrieved 2011-07-20
  5. ^ . 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)
  6. ^ "Daniel Morad (CDN) - All Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Daniel Morad | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  9. ^ "Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen official entry list" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  10. ^ "6 h Watkins Glen 2018 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  11. ^ "Petit Le Mans official results" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  12. ^ "2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona unofficial results" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2020.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Dagys, John (27 January 2023). "Morad to Replace Injured Auer in Spare Winward Mercedes". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Formula BMW USA
Champion

2007
Succeeded by
Alexander Rossi
(Formula BMW Americas)