The purpose of the team is to get students “hands-on” experience with real life situations.
The Baja league is hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The project is taken into consideration as an actual product to market to the public. The students must establish a budget, seek funding, design, manufacture, and test the vehicle.
Students will build communication, management, and leadership skills as a team member. Team members may handle anything from the business to the engineering portion of the project. Here the student is able hone their skills and become a professional.
SAE hosts three national events.
The three national are West, Midwest, and East. Each competition has an established series of dynamic events. These events may be: acceleration, sled pull, maneuverability, and a four hour endurance race. However, each competition also hosts a specialty event.
West — The west competition’s specialty event is a rock crawl. The driver must maneuver the car through a series of plotted trails along gigantic boulders as seen on television with professional rock crawling.
Midwest — The Midwest is a general competition. There are no specialty events to distinguish itself from the other two competitions. However, since this may appear as the “easiest” competition, there are nearly 140 teams from around the world competing at once.
East — The East competition is proclaimed the most difficult.
SAE also hosts competitions all over the world. A few to name are Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, and South Africa.
It may seem like an easy project, but not quite.
All teams have one thing in common: the engine. The rules for the competition are for all teams to use a specific 10 horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine. Any modifications to the engine are prohibited.
Once you seen these cars in action, you'll think twice before you snicker at 10 HP! Some reach in excess of 40MPH! These cars also climb hills, ford through mud, take sweet jumps, and even float in water!
