RIT Baja Teams Place High in South Dakota Competition

Rochester Institute of Technology’s two Baja SAE cars finished sixth and 13th out of the 100 teams that competed in the Baja SAE competition hosted by the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, S.D. May 23-26.

One of RIT’s cars took first place in the competition’s premier event—the endurance competition, a grueling four-hour race to see which car can complete the most laps before time expires. It was the first time an RIT team has ever won the event.

The teams now turn their attention toward the 2007 Baja SAE Rochester World Challenge, which RIT hosts June 7-10. More than 140 teams from colleges and universities around the world are scheduled to participate.

“South Dakota was a great team effort and a wonderful warm-up for the Baja SAE Rochester World Challenge,” says Marty Gordon, an RIT mechanical engineering technology professor and the team’s advisor. “We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to RIT.”

Baja SAE, a student design competition sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, requires participating colleges and universities to build all-terrain vehicles that are judged and inspected before competing in a series of events that test things like traction, acceleration and maneuverability.