Stevan Gordon McAleer (born 28 August 1984) is a British racing driver who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, GT World Challenge Europe, and Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Career
Early Career
McAleer was introduced to motorsports at the age of 10, visiting a karting track in his hometown of Glasgow with friends. At age 11, he was gifted a go-kart by his father, before beginning to race karts competitively the following year. However, a move to car racing was postponed due to a lack of funding. After winning the Scottish Karting Championship four times, he moved to the United States in 2005 to pursue additional racing opportunities. While browsing Autosport, McAleer came across a scholarship which granted entry into the Skip Barber Regional Championship, paving the way for that move. In his opening season in the Eastern Regional Championship, McAleer finished second in points, tallying seven wins and 14 podiums. For 2007, he moved to the Skip Barber National Championship, tallying a fourth-place points finish in his first season. After adding a fifth-place finish in his second season, McAleer concluded his stint in the series with a part-time campaign in 2009. Money was tight while competing in the series, and he supplemented his racing income by working at both a supermarket and a karting facility in New York.
In 2009, after three years of competition in the Skip Barber national series, McAleer took part in a scholarship competition for a Formula BMW ride, becoming one of ten finalists who earned a test with Räikkönen Robertson Racing. In 2010, a driver coaching position with F2000 Championship Series driver Tim Paul led to a part-time schedule in the series. Through six races, McAleer claimed two podium finishes.
Mazda MX-5
While competing in regional junior formula championships, McAleer also competed in one-off sports car racing events. One of these events, the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, put him into contact with MLB pitcher C. J. Wilson, leading to a drive in the 2012 Global MX-5 Cup. McAleer scored a victory in the opening weekend at Sebring, adding two more victories and eight total podiums over the course of the season en route to the series championship. The championship prize gave him the opportunity to contest a full season in either the then-Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge or Pirelli World Challenge. Electing to pursue the former, McAleer teamed up with co-driver Marc Miller to take on the full season for C.J. Wilson Racing. Scoring class victories at COTA and Watkins Glen, the duo finished seventh in the Street Tuner class championship. McAleer also claimed the series' Rookie of the Year award. He returned to the team for the 2014 season, paired with new co-driver Chad McCumbee. They would claim three podiums but no race victories, finishing seventh in the Street Tuner class. For 2015, the driver lineup remained the same. At Watkins Glen in June, the duo claimed the team's first victory since 2013, before adding another victory at Lime Rock in July. Entering the final race of the season at Road Atlanta, McCumbee and McAleer sat just one point clear at the top of the class championship over Andrew Carbonell. Finishing eighth in class, the duo claimed the Street Tuner class championship.
Ahead of the 2016 season, the two drivers moved to Freedom Autosport. They scored their first victory for their new team at Laguna Seca, adding another at Lime Rock as they finished fourth in the class championship. The following season, McCumbee and McAleer claimed their third consecutive victory at Lime Rock, scoring another at Road America and finishing three consecutive seasons with two class victories.
In 2022, McAleer served as a member of the judging panel for Mazda Motorsports' Spec MX-5 shootout competition.
Sports car racing
In 2018, McAleer embarked on a three-pronged program in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Pirelli World Challenge, and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. Joining Bodymotion Racing in the former series, McAleer moved to the GS class, competing in a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR alongside Joe Robillard. Registering a best finish of sixth at Daytona, the team would compete in just six of the ten total races, finishing 28th in the GS-class championship. McAleer's campaign in the Pirelli World Challenge was also shortened, as he competed in just ten of the 18 races for the Classic BMW team, placing on the podium once; a second-place finish at COTA. His Lamborghini Super Trofeo exploits yielded a second-place finish in the Pro-Am championship, with McAleer representing the professional co-driver to amateur driver Randy Sellari.