The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology's underclass Mini Baja team finished in seventh place during the 2007 Mini Baja West competition, held May 23-26 in Rapid City.
The contest pitted the School of Mines against nearly 100 teams from across the country and around the world and tested the team's ability to design, fabricate, and race an off-road vehicle.
The School of Mines also raced a senior team vehicle, which finished in 11th place overall. Other placings for the senior vehicle include first in the hill climb, second in acceleration, sixth in maneuverability and 10th in the rock crawl. It was also first overall in dynamic events and the team received a trophy and $800 cash prize from Honda.
The underclass vehicle also took fourth place in the endurance race, seventh in maneuverability and eighth in the sales portion of the competition. This makes for the best combined effort ever in School of Mines Baja history.
The Baja cars were judged on design, cost, and safety. Teams gave presentations about their cars, and showed off their performance during hill climb, maneuverability, rock crawl, and acceleration events.
The Baja cars and drivers were also put to the test during the four-hour endurance race over rugged terrain that tested the durability of each vehicle.
"The competition was a complete success," team member Kristerfer Olson said. "Teams thought we provided a true Baja course--one that challenged the vehicles and took them to their limits."
Mini Baja simulates real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain. The object of the competition is to provide students with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market.
For more information on competition rules or for a complete team listing, visit http://students.sae.org/competitions/bajasae/sdsm/.