Daniel Morad (born April 24, 1990) is a Canadian racecar driver and YouTuber, races 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 & 2024 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with Alegra Motorsports and Winward Racing
Career
Karting and Formula BMW 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. He later went on to partake in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals 2010, where he qualified 13th in the Pre-final and went up to win the final.
Morad moved up into Formula racing in 2006, 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 sixth overall in the Drivers' Championship.
Morad 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 one-hundred 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 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 twelfth in the championship after leaving the team and the series with three races remaining in the season. He was tenth at the time. His best finish was sixth at Long Beach and the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.
A1 Grand Prix – The World Cup of Motorsport 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. He completed every race for the team and scored eight points, putting A1 Team Lebanon in seventeenth overall. Morad's best finish was sixth in the South African feature race.
GP3 Series 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 twelfth 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. However, Morad parted ways with the team in July and was replaced by Callum MacLeod.Allen, Peter. MacLeod To Race For Carlin In GP3 For Remainder Of Season, The Checkered Flag, 19 July 2011, Retrieved 2011-07-20
Indy Lights Morad raced in the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights series with Team Moore Racing for one event in Edmonton.Howden, Rob. The Insider , eFormulaCarNews, July 20, 2011, Retrieved 2011-07-20
Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama 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 one 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 nine podiums in ten 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 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 four rounds of the championship, which helped the team jump from third to second place in the team championship.
NASCAR Morad competed in two NASCAR Pinty's Series events in 2016. He made his debut at Toronto driving the No. 06 Dodge, he started third and finished seventh after leading five laps. Morad returned at Circuit Trois-Rivières, where he finished fifth.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
In 2016, Morad competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring driving the No. 24 Alegra Motorsports InSync Riley/BMW Daytona Prototype. He brought the team up to third 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, Morad competed full time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Alegra Motorsport driving the No. 28 Porsche 991 GT3 R. 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 and finished 9th in the GTD drivers Championship.
In 2018, Morad 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 No. 71 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for P1 Motorsports with Loris Spinelli and JC Perez. They retired after 48 laps. He also drove the No. 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 sixth in class.
In 2019, Morad competed in the Michelin Endurance Cup with Montaplast by Land Motorsport scoring a best finish of nineteenth overall and second in class at the 2019 Petit le mans.
In 2020, Morad competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona for WRT Speedstar Audi Sport driving the No. 88 Audi R8 LMS GT3 with Rolf Ineichen, Mirko Bortolotti and Dries Vanthoor. They ended up finishing twentieth overall and third in class.
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.
Personal life Morad was born in the spring of 1990 in Ontario to Robin and Ramsin Morad. He has one sister, Kayla.
Racing record Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles 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 Motorsports1010191652nd Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain Samsung SUHD TV Racing400002718th 2016 NASCAR Pinty's Series Carlos de Quesada200007730th Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada - Platinum Porsche Centre Oakville / Alegra Motorsports12561102051st Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA - Platinum Alegra Motorsports413347212th IMSA SportsCar Championship - Prototype100002135th 2017 Pirelli World Challenge - GT CRP Racing10200317213th IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Alegra Motorsports1210032818th 2018 Pirelli World Challenge - GT CRP Racing1513242376th IMSA Prototype Challenge - LMP3 Extreme Speed Motorsports100113035th IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD P1 Motorsports100004043rd Montaplast by Land-Motorsport10000 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America Alegra Motorsports1000006212th IMSA SportsCar Championship - GT Montaplast by Land-Motorsport400019228th 2020 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD WRT Speedstar Audi Sport100115134th AIM Vasser Sullivan10000 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Alegra Motorsports90010151516th 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Al Manar Racing by HRT100000NC Intercontinental GT Challenge Al Manar Racing by HRT100002511th Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing11001 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Alegra Motorsports4000062036th 2023 GT World Challenge America - Pro/Am TR3 Racing800216211th GT World Challenge America - Pro22102507th IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Winward Racing1000018961st Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS102003177014th2024 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter51012486th Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS Winward Racing90013193012th IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD1100136447th GT World Challenge Asia Craft-Bamboo Racing600024315th2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Korthoff Competition Motors2000156042nd Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS Winward Racing60021119022ndGT World Challenge AsiaCraft-Bamboo Racing200001828th 2026GT World Challenge America - Pro-AmTR3 RacingLamborghini Super Trofeo North America - Pro * Season still in progress.
Complete GP3 Series results (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 CATFEA CATSPR ISTFEA ISTSPR VALFEA VALSPR SILFEA SILSPR HOCFEA HOCSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR 12th 15 2011 CarlinISTFEAISTSPRCATFEACATSPRVALFEAVALSPRSILFEASILSPRNÜRFEANÜRSPRHUNFEAHUNSPRSPAFEASPASPRMNZFEAMNZSPR 33rd 0
Complete Indy Lights results 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 EDM15 EDM11 TRO NHM BAL KTY LVS 26th 34
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results (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 Points 2016 Alegra Motorsports P Riley Mk XXVI DP Dinan (BMW) 5.0 L V8 DAY SEB LBH LGA BEL WGL MOS ELK COA PET 35th 21 2017 Alegra Motorsports GTD Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6DAYSEBLBHAUS BEL WGL MOS LIMELK VIR LGA PET 8th 281 2018 P1 Motorsports GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8DAY SEB MOH BEL WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA 43rd 40 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Audi DAR 5.2 L V10PET 2019 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport GTD Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 DAY SEBMOH DET WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA PET 28th 92 2020 WRT Speedstar Audi Sport GTD Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 DAY DAY SEB ELK VIR 34th 51 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8ATL MOH CLT PET LGA SEB 2021 Alegra Motorsports GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8DAY SEB MOH DET WGL WGL LIM ELK LGA LBH VIR PET 16th 1515 2022 Alegra Motorsports GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY SEB LBH LGAMOH 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 SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR IMS PET 61st 1892024 Winward Racing GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAYSEBLBHLGAWGLMOSELKVIRIMSPET 47th 3642025 Korthoff Competition Motors GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAYSEBLBHLGAWGLMOSELKVIRIMSPET 42nd 560
References
External links Official website
Profile on ChampCar Atlantic Official website Profile on imsa.com