Fifty years ago, SAE International, a global organization supporting the automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle industries, launched their Baja series in South Carolina.This year, they’ll go back to their roots, bringing nearly 1,000 people to NXT LVL 101 in Gray Court, Oct. 2-5.SAE has chapters at hundreds of universities across the globe. In addition to club activities on campus, they offer four events throughout the year, in which students can opt to participate.The Baja series challenges teams of six to 5...
Fifty years ago, SAE International, a global organization supporting the automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle industries, launched their Baja series in South Carolina.
This year, they’ll go back to their roots, bringing nearly 1,000 people to NXT LVL 101 in Gray Court, Oct. 2-5.
SAE has chapters at hundreds of universities across the globe. In addition to club activities on campus, they offer four events throughout the year, in which students can opt to participate.
The Baja series challenges teams of six to 50 students to build an off-road four-wheel vehicle. Each of the 82 participating teams are given the same engine that they cannot alter and they design, build and then compete with their final product.
The four-day event starts with engine checks and inspections.
“We make sure no engines have been changed in any way and then once passed, there’s a rigorous technical inspection looking for safety and rules compliance,” Damon Andring, Baja Program Manager said. “They go over every inch of the car to make sure it’s safe.”
As technical inspections continue the next day, students will have the opportunity to participate in a business presentation and design presentation; each team sharing their design and why they choose to do their build in a specific way.
Cost audits are conducted, inspecting the detailed list students submit with parts purchased for their build.
On Saturday and Sunday, the official competition begins.
“Saturday includes four dynamic events that test all aspects of the vehicle: acceleration, maneuverability, hill climb and suspension,” Andring said. “On Sunday, they’ll participate in a 1.1-mile, four-hour endurance event.”
Andring said one of the benefits of the special series is the corporate sponsors that help make the event possible.
“This is an opportunity to recruit some of the top-end talent majoring in engineering. They can watch students in their environment. Things break and they’re able to pull their car off the track, fix it and bring it back into the competition. Along with that, there’s a lot of real-world skills including team management, communication and leadership,” Andring said.
Volunteers are needed and help make the event successful.
Andring said some people want to be close to the action and can serve as a flagger on the track but whether interested in helping at the check-in or if you have a background in engineering and want to judge the design of the vehicles, it takes a village of volunteers for a memorable experience.
“It’s a great community of students. When I started working with this program the first thing that jumped off the page to me was how it didn’t matter if it was a small team or a huge team, they’re all willing to help each other. They all want every car out there for the final event,” Andring said. “There are many alumni that continue to give back with their time and I think our volunteers see this camaraderie. I don’t know that I’ve met many people that have attended a Baja event and didn’t want to go back.”
For more information or to sign up to volunteer, visit https://www.sae.org/attend/student-events/baja-sae-carolina.