About the Team
The Baja engineering team designs a single-seat 4 wheel off-roader every academic year to compete in internationally renowned competitions around the world hosted by SAE International and it's associates. The team provides engineering students the opportunity to go beyond textbooks and apply their knowledge through developing an all-terrain vehicle that must withstand various harsh conditions. The Baja team functions to design, manufacture, test, promote, and compete with the vehicle as the prototype for a production off-road vehicle.
2023-2024 Team
Click on any of the pictures to be taken to that lead’s LinkedIn page.
Sebastian Kapustka
Team Lead
Ethan Hornick
Powertrain Lead
Oluwalonimi Ajayi
Testing Lead
Ethan Froese
Design Lead
Simon Dueck
Chassis Lead
Valour Eyamba
Driver Controls Lead
Bronwyn Rempel
Steering and Suspension Co-Lead
Uday Shekhawat
Instrumentation Lead
Caelum McConnell
Steering and Suspension Co-Lead
Gaston Montani
Ergonomics Lead
SAE Competition
The SAE Competition has two seperate areas where points are available. Here is some information about these two areas.
Dynamic Events
Endurance
The Baja endurance race is a four hour race and determines the Baja vehicle’s ability to operate continuously in rugged terrain. The objective of the race is to travel the furthest distance in the four hour time limit. If any issues with the Baja vehicle arise during the race the Baja team is permitted to repair the Baja vehicle in the pit.
Acceleration
The acceleration event evaluates the straight line acceleration ability of the Baja vehicle. The track is either 100 [ft] or 150 [ft] and each team is allowed two attempts, the best attempt is recorded.
Manoeuvrability
Maneuverability is an event that is designed to assess the handling of the Baja vehicle. The course varies by competition and is intended to represent various extremities of Baja terrain. The best time, accounting for time penalties, of two trials is chosen.
Hill Climb
The hill climb event is designed to measure the ability to maintain traction while climbing a steep incline. The hill varies in surface condition depending on the location of the competition and the best of two attempts from a complete stop is recorded.
Specialty Event
The specialty events, such as rock crawl, mud bog, and suspension, are based on the competition location and judge the unique abilities of the Baja vehicle.
Static Events
Business Presentation
The objective of the presentation event is to evaluate the team’s ability to develop and deliver a comprehensive business case that will convince the executives of a corporation that the team’s design best meets the demands of the amateur, weekend competition market.
Cost Report
A comprehensive cost report detailing all incurred costs in producing the designed vehicle is submitted to the prior to the competition and is reviewed by a panel of judges.
Design Report
The objective of the engineering design event is to evaluate the engineering effort that went into the design of the vehicle and how the engineering meets the intent of the market, as detailed by the rulebook.
Technical Inspection
This inspection determines that the prototype vehicle meets the competition rules and requirements.
