Daniel Morad (born April 24, 1990) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
-
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
racecar driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...
. He is notable for winning the 2007
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
Formula BMW
Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young k ...
championship, the 2010 World Championship in the
Rotax Max Challenge
The Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMC) is a kart racing series owned and organized worldwide by BRP-Powertrain and its distributors, approved and in compliance with CIK-FIA. Competition takes place on a club, national and international ...
Grand Finals in La Conca, Italy, And the 2017
Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
with Alegra Motorsports.
Career
Karting and Formula BMW
Morad was born in
Markham, Ontario
Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...
, Canada. His career began in his native country during 1998 competing in several
karting
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
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
Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single- ...
the following year in the form of
Formula BMW
Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young k ...
, competing in its
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
series. In his début season, in which he participated in all fourteen rounds, he picked up a win in
Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regi ...
, a
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
, a fastest lap and a podium at the
Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's third oldest continuously op ...
meeting. With a collection of 75 points, Morad finished 6th overall in the Drivers' Championship.
He switched teams the following year, joining the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
EuroInternational
EuroInternational is a racing organization (which includes Italian division EuroInternational Srl and American division EuroInternational Inc.) owned by Antonio Ferrari, grandnephew of Enzo Ferrari, formerly known as Euromotorsport.
History
Origi ...
. 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
Esteban Manuel Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (; born 5 August 1991) is a Mexican racing driver currently representing Mercedes in Formula One, Formula E and esports and Inter Europol Competition in World Endurance Championship.
Previously from 2013 ...
. 2007 also saw Morad drive for the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
team taking the role of test driver at the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n, Mexican,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
meetings.
Atlantic Championship
With his Formula BMW USA title on his Résumé, Morad managed to get a drive at the
EuroInternational
EuroInternational is a racing organization (which includes Italian division EuroInternational Srl and American division EuroInternational Inc.) owned by Antonio Ferrari, grandnephew of Enzo Ferrari, formerly known as Euromotorsport.
History
Origi ...
Atlantic Championship
The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...
team alongside
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n
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
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
and the
Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
.
A1 Grand Prix – The World Cup of Motorsport
Morad raced for
A1 Team Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon was the Lebanese team of A1 Grand Prix, a former international racing series.
Management
A1 Team Lebanon's owner is Tameem Auchi.
History
Daniel Morad became the race driver for A1 Team Lebanon for the 2008-09 season. Alt ...
in the
2008–09 season. Although having previously driven in rookie sessions for
A1 Team Canada
A1 Team Canada is the Canadian team of A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as oppose ...
, 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 8 points, putting A1 Team Lebanon in 17th overall. Morad's best finish was 6th 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
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...
for
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. 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
Carlin, formerly Carlin Motorsport, is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It currently competes in five championships: FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, F4 British Championship, BRDC British Formula 3 and E ...
. However, Morad parted ways with the team in July and was replaced by
Callum MacLeod
Callum MacLeod (born 20 January 1988) is a professional British race car driver who drives in the British G.T. Championship. He also won the 2007 British Formula Ford Championship and the 2009 European F3 Open Championship. He was born in North ...
.
Indy Lights
Morad raced in the 2011
Firestone Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a progra ...
series with
Team Moore Racing
Team Moore Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the Firestone Indy Lights series. It was owned by former racer Tom Wood and Mark Moore and is based in Pittsboro, Indiana.
The team was formed in 2007 with Wood driving. However, after t ...
for one event in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
.
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 1 week before the opening race at
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...
. 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
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
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
Scott Hargrove (born February 1, 1995) is a Canadian racing driver from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Hargrove in the winningest driver in IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada history. Having competed in both Sports car racing and Open-wheel car ...
and
Zacharie Robichon
Zacharie Richard Robichon (born May 31, 1992) is a Canadian sportscar racer, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Wright Motorsports.
Career
Karting
Robichon got his passion for car racing growing up came from his father who race ...
.
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 4 rounds of the championship, which helped the team jump from 3rd to 2nd place in the team championship.
NASCAR
Morad competed in two
NASCAR Pinty's Series
The NASCAR Pinty's Series (french: Série NASCAR Pinty's), commonly abbreviated as NPS, is a national NASCAR racing series in Canada, and is a continuation of the old CASCAR Super Series which was founded in 1981.
History
In September 2006 NASCA ...
events in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
. He made his debut at
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
driving the No. 06
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
, he started 3rd and finished 7th after leading 5 laps. Morad returned at
Circuit Trois-Rivières
The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located o ...
, where he finished 5th.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
In 2016 Daniel Morad competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring driving the #24 Alegra Motorsports InSync Riley/BMW Daytona Prototype. 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
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...
with Alegra Motorsport driving the #28 Porsche 991 GT3 R. He won the
Rolex 24 at Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
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 he drove two
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...
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 Motorsport
P1 Motorsport is a British racing team based in Norfolk, England. They currently compete in the World Series by Renault. For 2013 the team was purchased by Strakka Racing owner-driver Nick Leventis and was renamed P1 by Strakka Racing.
British ...
s with Loris Spinelli and JC Perez. They retired after 48 laps. He also drove the #29
Audi R8 LMS
The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006.
The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufact ...
with
Kelvin van der Linde
Kelvin van der Linde (born 20 June 1996) is a South African racing driver currently competing as a substitute driver in Formula E with the ABT Team. He made his GT Masters debut in 2014, also winning the championship that year, a feat he rep ...
and
Christopher Mies
Christopher Mies (born 24 May 1989) is a professional German racing driver who currently competes for Audi Sport in GT3 series such as ADAC GT Masters and GT World Challenge Europe.
Career
Mies began his career in 2006 in the Toyota Yaris Cup ...
for Montaplast by Land Motorsport at the
2018 Petit le mans, finishing the race 26th overall and 6th in class.
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
The 2019 Petit Le Mans (formally known as the 2019 MOTUL Petit Le Mans for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd running of the Petit Le Mans, and was held on October 12th 2019. It was the last race in the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship ...
.
In 2020 he competed in the
Rolex 24 at Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
for
WRT Speedstar Audi Sport driving the #88
Audi R8 LMS GT3 with Rolf Ineichen,
Mirko Bortolotti
Mirko Bortolotti (born 10 January 1990) is an Italian racing driver from Trento. He has won the Italian Formula 3 Championship in 2008, the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2011, the Eurocup Megane Trophy in 2013 and the Blancpain GT Series Endur ...
and
Dries Vanthoor
Dries Vanthoor (born 20 April 1998 in Heusden-Zolder) is a racing driver from Belgium. He currently competes in the GT World Challenge Europe and ADAC GT Masters for Audi. He is the younger brother of Laurens, and was the winner of the 2018 Ba ...
. They ended up finishing 20th overall and 3rd in class.
Personal life
Morad was born in the spring of 1990 in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
to Robin and Ramsin Morad. He has one sister, Kayla.
Motor racing record
Complete GP3 Series results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
Official websiteProfile on Driver Database*
Profile on ChampCar Atlantic Official websiteProfile on imsa.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morad, Daniel
1990 births
Living people
People from Markham, Ontario
Racing drivers from Ontario
Canadian racing drivers
Lebanese racing drivers
Formula BMW USA drivers
Atlantic Championship drivers
A1 Team Lebanon drivers
GP3 Series drivers from Canada
Indy Lights drivers
NASCAR drivers
Canadian people of Lebanese descent
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Carlin racing drivers
GT World Challenge America drivers
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers
Status Grand Prix drivers
EuroInternational drivers
Team Moore Racing drivers
W Racing Team drivers
Extreme Speed Motorsports drivers
Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers