Morad Has Been “Easy Insert” Back into GTWC America, TR3

Photo: SRO

Daniel Morad said he’s been an “easy insert” back into TR3 Racing and GT World Challenge America powered by AWS competition after two seasons away, after getting the call-up to join the Florida-based squad’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for the remainder of the season.

The Mercedes-AMG veteran, who has replaced Will Bamber in the No. 9 Pro-Am class entry alongside derogated FIA Silver-rated driver Brayton Williams, last took part in the series in 2023, also with the Gregory Romanelli-led team.

However, it was his series debut, back in 2017 with CRP Racing that raised eyebrows for the Canadian rising star’s future, which has since led to numerous accolades around the world, including a pair of Rolex 24 at Daytona GTD class victories.

“It’s great to be back,” Morad told Sportscar365. “I missed everyone. It’s been a few years. Brayton is so fresh and has so much potential.

“It’s funny because I come back to the paddock and every time I come back, the same thing always comes up about 2017 against Jeroen [Bleekemolen] in VIR.

“It was my first time in the Mercedes-AMG, never tested, I just jumped in with Ryan Dalziel and we won on our first attempt. It was kind of nice.

“To do it that way, it stuck with so many people. It almost seems like it was a bigger deal than winning two Daytonas [in GTD].

“I don’t care, whatever it takes, as long as we win.”

When asked about his and Williams’ expectations for the rest of the season, Morad said the focus will be to continue building the confidence and speed out of the GT3 rookie.

“We’re in an interesting spot because Brayton is so fresh to racing, especially GT3 racing, he’s been thrown into it, that his learning curve is vertical right now.” he said.

“Every time he goes in the car, he’s just getting so much faster and so much more confident.

“It will be interesting to see the progress throughout the year.

“I know for me, it’s kind of plug and play. I’m so comfortable in this package and I know the team already, so it’s an easy insert.

“So far it’s been a lot of fun. We’re having a good time.”

Morad added: “We haven’t really started doing any sim work or anything like that. I think there’s a lot of potential to improve and push each other.

“It’s a competitive series. There’s a lot of depth and there’s way more cars than when I used to run it, so it’s going to be a challenge.”

While he fell short of saying his latest stint in the series is more competitive than previous seasons, when it was then known as Pirelli World Challenge, Morad said the current era does have significantly more depth.

“It’s tough to say because we used to have factory support,” he said. “In 2017, there was [Miguel] Molina, [Toni] Vilander, Pat Long, Joerg Bergmeister…

“Those were some big names but now it’s competitive. I think there’s more depth. It’s more punishing if you make a mistake.

“Instead of being two spots down, you’re going to be 15 spots than you would be.”

Source: Sports Car 365