The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology's Baja SAE team recently traveled nearly 1,000 miles to compete in the annual Winter Baja Competition, held at Michigan Tech. The team's vehicles took third, fourth and eighth place at the competition. This was the third time the South Dakota School of Mines Baja SAE team attended this competition, held just off of Lake Linden, on a motocross-style track constructed entirely out of snow.
It consisted of two 90-minute endurance races, a fastest lap event and a big air competition. This year, the team brought 13 students and wedged three Baja cars into the trailer: the 2007 car (#7), the 2006 car (#49) and the 2004 car (#½). There were a total of 25 Baja cars at the competition, including teams from Michigan, Wisconsin and even Virginia Tech. The School of Mines team attends this competition primarily as a team building event, and each of the team members drove at least 30 minutes during the race.
When the first endurance race started, the air temperature was a frigid 8 degrees below zero with a wind chill of 15 degrees below. All three of the cars started out exceptionally well, with the #½ car leading about half of the first race. After some driver changes and fuel stops, the first race ended very well with the School of Mines cars in fourth, fifth and seventh place. Between the two endurance races, there was a fastest lap event with the School of Mines taking fifth, sixth and seventh places.
By the time the second endurance race started it was a warm 25 degrees and the team's spirits were high. The School of Mines cars again started off on a great pace with a new set of drivers. The #49 car kept pace with the leader the entire race, finishing the second leg of the race in second place. The #7 car also stayed strong, finishing the second race in fourth place. The #½ car had a mechanical failure just over halfway through the second race, but after a few minutes and little ingenuity it was soon back on the track. The overall results were third place for the #7 car, fourth place for the #49 car and eighth place for the #½ car.
Full competition results can be found at http://www.baja.mtu.edu/winter_baja_files/Winter%20Results%2008.pdf.
The students competing: Ayla Braunsen, chemical engineering, Ipswich; Cody Egle, mechanical engineering, McCook, Neb.; Jason Fields, mechanical engineering, Milbank; Ben Franchuk, mechanical engineering, Dickenson, N.D.; Pat Fraser, mechanical engineering, Huron; Chris George, mechanical engineering, Huron; Ben Grassel, civil engineering, Spearfish; Jesse Heaton, mechanical engineering, Midland; Mark Hughes, mechanical engineering, Huron; Trevor Krugman, mechanical engineering, Wayne, Neb.; Amery Kuhl, mechanical engineering/physics, Worthington, Minn.; Kris Olson, mechanical engineering, Snohomish, Wash.; Jason Williams, mechanical engineering, Piedmont