American racer says he’s aiming to “get to another level with my driving and the TRS”.
Up-and-coming American David Morales is the latest signing for the 2023 Castrol Toyota Racing Series (TRS), securing his spot on the grid for its first full international championship since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Between 2012 and 2014, he competed in karting championships in his home state of Florida. His best result was eighth in the Rotax Micro Max category of the 2012 Florida Winter Tour.
Morales, pictured, had several more seasons of karting in the US before making his circuit-racing debut in the Lucas Oil Formula Series.
From there, he progressed to the NACAM Formula 4 Championship and, in 2021, the British F4 with Arden Motorsport. He recorded numerous podiums and finished in the overall top 10 in the NACAM.
Morales has enjoyed a busy 2022 as well. He has competed for Arden in the GB3 Championship in the inaugural season of the Praga Cup sports-car championship and in the Formula Asia Regional Championship.
Despite the 19-year-old’s considerable experience in junior single-seater categories, the TRS will be a step up in terms of power and speed.
Morales has teamed up with M2 Competition for his campaign and is aiming for a competitive season in the five-weekend series, which includes the 67th New Zealand Grand Prix.
M2 Competition’s Mark Pilcher says the American has made the right move by starting 2023 in New Zealand.
“It’s great David and his family can see the benefit of TRS. Everyone at M2 will be happy to provide him all the tools required to improve and get some strong results to set him off for a great season.”
Morales adds: “I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to race in the TRS, especially with a team like M2, which has a strong history in the championship.
“This year is going to be a big one for me. I’m aiming to get to another level with my driving and the TRS has given a lot of other drivers the opportunity to do that.”
Morales will be hoping to join an illustrious list of graduates from New Zealand’s premier single-seater series.
The series has one of the best records in junior formulae for the proportion of drivers making it to F1 or who have achieved other notable successes.
Current F1 aces Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Nicolas Latifi, Lance Stroll and Guanyu Zhou have all raced TRS. Two of them – Norris and Stroll – were crowned TRS champions.