Gradient Racing announced Wednesday morning (April 10) that Stevan McAleer has been tapped to share the team’s No. 66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 full-time with Sheena Monk for the remainder of the 2024 season. McAleer replaces Katherine Legge, who has driven for the team since the beginning of last season.
“After the thoroughly great experience I had with the team in Daytona, I was excited to be granted the opportunity to return and run for the rest of the season,” McAleer said in a press release. “This will be my second time competing in the Grand Prix of Long Beach, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with Gradient Racing.”
As McAleer noted, he joined the team for the Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January along with Legge, Monk and Tatiana Calderon. The Acura had a lot of speed as Legge qualified the car third in GTD. The good pace continued in the race as Legge moved up to second early, while McAleer and Monk were able to maintain the pace.
McAleer was originally announced back in December as driving for the team only in Daytona. In addition to this, he is running in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for Rennsport One in a Porsche.
However, as the race continued on, the NSX suffered from a loss of power. McAleer getting run into didn’t help the issues. Later on, the car went behind the wall after a substantial rise in temperatures. This issue was eventually pinpointed as electrical issues. Repairs could not be made, forcing the team to retire from the event and accept a 19th-place finish in GTD.
“This is a disappointing note to end on,” McAleer stated at the time. “We had a very fast car and the Gradient Racing crew was very hungry for a great result. Sheena, Katherine, and Tatiana did a phenomenal job and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be this time around.”
In 13 starts with Gradient Racing, Legge has run well at times, but struggled with overall pace. Her best finish with the team was a fourth in her debut with the team in last year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team has failed to finish the last three races (both Daytona and Sebring this year, plus last October’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta).
For Legge, the news isn’t all bad. On Tuesday, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Legge would drive their No. 51 in the Indianapolis 500 in May.
The new McAleer-Monk pairing will debut next weekend in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, a 100-minute sprint race on the Streets of Long…
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