Stevan McAleer has been announced as Katherine Legge’s replacement for the rest of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with the female driver occupied by the Indianapolis 500.
In light of the recent news that Katherine Legge will attempt to qualify for her fourth Indy 500, Gradient Racing confirmed that McAleer will become the full-time driver partnering Sheena Monk.
McAleer already competed with the team at the 24 Hours of Daytona season-opener and will return at the upcoming Grand Prix of Long Beach sprint round [3] on 20 April, which will be the shortest race on the calendar at 1-hour and 40-minutes.
A team statement said: “Gradient Racing confirms that Stevan McAleer will be returning to the team’s driver lineup as Sheena Monk’s full season teammate from the Long Beach Grand Prix onwards in their 2024 campaign.”
Gradient Racing has not outlined a specific reason for this altercation in their driver lineup.
Gradient Racing has suffered a staggered start to their season with 19th in the GTD class at Daytona followed by a retirement at the 12 Hours of Sebring with their #66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22.
In the latter, Legge’s race was hampered by left-side contact at Sunset Bend with Porsche Penske’s Frederic Makowiecki.
Although no further action was taken, the #66 eventually became the eighth confirmed retirement in the grueling Sebring classic.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach will feature 10 GTPs and 17 GTD entrants, as Gradient Racing looks for a more successful outing at the thrilling street circuit.
