Caitlyn McDaniel makes encouraging Caterham debut at Zandvoort

Caitlyn McDaniel enjoyed a positive debut weekend in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship as she achieved a best finish of 11^th at Zandvoort, banking valuable experience as she was able to enjoy good midfield battles and finished all three races inside the overall top-15.

Photo credits: JEP

Caitlyn McDaniel enjoyed a positive debut weekend in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship as she achieved a best finish of 11^th at Zandvoort. The Fox Motorsport driver banked valuable experience in the close-quarters championship while gaining knowledge of a challenging circuit. McDaniel was able to enjoy good midfield battles as she finished all three races inside the overall top-15.

In order to gain additional experience, McDaniel entered the latest round of the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship at Zandvoort. Racing in the Netherlands for the first time also meant that Caitlyn enjoyed her first taste of circuit racing outside of the UK and she was hoping this knowledge would prove valuable in her main championship campaign in the GB4 Championship.

At the halfway stage of the GB4 Championship season, McDaniel sits in 23^rd position in the overall standings with a best result of 14^th. The Fox Motorsport driver enjoyed a positive last round at Snetterton where she scored championship points in two out of the three races, including an 18^th place result in race two. Now experiencing a different style of racing, McDaniel was looking to expand her skillset and further improve her racecraft.

McDaniel’s race weekend got underway on Thursday as she participated in two afternoon test sessions to get up to speed at Zandvoort. Not all the drivers in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship were on track during the day, however Caitlyn was inside the top-10 and on-pace with series regulars.

The Fox Motorsport driver gained further knowledge on Friday, including her first experience of driving in the wet at Zandvoort during the first session. Throughout the day, McDaniel completed a total of 32 laps with her quickest time of a 1:59.090 coming in session two. In both of the dry sessions, Caitlyn set the 13^th fastest lap among the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship drivers, while she was inside the top-10 in the earlier challenging conditions.

Qualifying was held on Saturday morning and McDaniel was immediately on the pace as she soon improved upon her quickest time from testing. Utilising the powerful slipstream was the most effective way to set a fast lap time and Caitlyn was able to benefit from this on her way to a 14^th place qualifying result. McDaniel’s best lap of a 1:58.222 was comfortably in contention with the midfield runners as she targeted a top-10 result.

The first race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with McDaniel lining up from 13^th on the grid after a penalty was applied to Paul Oggelsby ahead. It was a clean start for the Fox Motorsport driver who initially fell to the tail of the field, before Ann Hall spun directly ahead of her through turn 10. As a result, Caitlyn ended lap one in 14^th position and she was now targeting a period of fast and consistent lap times.

In the early stages of the race, McDaniel’s goal was to cut the deficit to Graham Handy ahead and her pace in sector one was particularly impressive. Caitlyn was consistently setting top-8 times through this part of the circuit, despite not benefiting from a slipstream. As she continued to improve her times, the margin reduced from almost five seconds to just two seconds which brought McDaniel in contention with the Williams Motorsport driver.

On lap five, Oggelsby retired into the pits and this elevated Caitlyn into 13^th position as she took a step closer to the top-10. A small moment on lap eight then saw Handy extend his margin slightly, before McDaniel cut the deficit once more. On lap 10, Andy Palmer spun into the gravel and this incident delayed Handy which brought McDaniel into contention on the final lap. Overcoming a margin of just less than a second, Caitlyn made a superb move on her rival to take the chequered flag in 11^th position and complete an excellent debut race in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship.

Race two of the weekend was held on Sunday morning and with the grid positions based on the results from the first contest, McDaniel lined up from 11^th on the grid. As the drivers approached the first turn, Caitlyn did a nice job to avoid an incident involving Andy Palmer and Ann Hall which unfolded around her. At the end of the first lap, McDaniel was in 14^th position but running right behind a competitive group of midfield runners.

On lap two, McDaniel ran wide at the opening turn and this lost her some ground as she continued to get her tyres up to temperature. The race then settled into a rhythm with McDaniel again showing excellent speed through the opening sector. The Fox Motorsport driver was again setting top-10 times through the banked part of the circuit and this allowed her to match the laps set by both Tim Hardcastle and Graham Handy ahead.

On lap five, McDaniel set her fastest race lap of the weekend and after remaining consistent on the following lap, she cut the deficit to the drivers ahead. Caitlyn was also improving through the middle sector and on lap seven she was set to improve upon her personal best time by a substantial margin before a small moment in the final sector. Nonetheless, McDaniel continued to push in the closing stages and she took the chequered flag in 14^th position, just two seconds behind Handy, while again improving upon her quickest lap.

For the third and final race on Sunday afternoon, McDaniel was looking to move up the order from her 14^th place starting position. McDaniel experienced another clean opening lap and settled into 15^th position while successfully remaining in touch with the drivers ahead. Caitlyn was enjoying her best opening portion of a race to date and she was now looking for way ahead of both Andy Palmer and Graham Handy.

On lap three, McDaniel was the fourth fastest driver through sector one and this ensured she was now within slipstream range of the duo ahead. By the end of the lap, she ran side-by-side with Handy, however the Williams Motorsport driver held position with Caitlyn remaining in 15^th. McDaniel and Handy then caught Palmer and to start lap six, all three drivers were jostling for position into turn one.

Although McDaniel remained in 15^th, she was gaining valuable knowledge in wheel-to-wheel battles and she made this experience count in the closing stages. On lap nine, McDaniel came out on top in this three-way battle and briefly moved into 13^th before Palmer reclaimed the leading position in this train. McDaniel mounted one final challenge on her more experienced rival and took the chequered flag just a tenth of a second behind Palmer, therefore completing her weekend with a 14^th place result.

It was a successful debut weekend in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship for McDaniel who banked valuable knowledge in the highly-competitive series. Racing at Zandvoort was also a new experience for the American racer who will now be looking to carry forward this momentum into the GB4 Championship. It will be a quick turnaround for McDaniel who will be back behind the wheel of her Fox Motorsport single seater machine at Silverstone Grand Prix circuit next weekend.