Beaver Racing Orange Collects Overall Win in Baja SAE Wisconsin, Making it Two in a Row!

BURLINGTON, WI., June 29, 2009

Oregon State University made it two wins in a row with their first place finish at the MGA Research Facility in Burlington, Wisconsin during the Baja SAE Wisconsin event held June 11 – 14. Coming in on the heels of their win in Portland, Oregon, Oregon State University backed it up with a rather convincing overall effort.

100 teams competed in the last of the Baja SAE competitions this year.  Good weather greeted the competitors as the event kicked off on Thursday and Friday with registration and technical and safety inspections. The entire four day competition was held at the MGA Research Facility making logistics that much easier for the teams. A vast parking lot at the facility accommodated all the teams bringing smiles from many students.

Head organizer, Glenn Bower, and his committee challenged the teams with 5 dynamic events – Sled Pull, Acceleration, Suspension & Traction, Maneuverability and a Mud Bog.  Saturday mornings’ rain and mist added more challenges to the competition although by the afternoon, clouds vanished and the sun appeared. Most of the track dried with the exception of the mud bog, a tradition at the Wisconsin event; an old OEM salt bath 75-feet in length filled with water, rocks and mud…watching this event can’t help but make one smile as everyone cheers each other on.  The Mud Bog winner, ISAT, from France used their unique wheel and tire combination to beat the rest with an 11.04-second time!  The same combination of wheels and tires also enabled them to win the Sled Pull event.

Michigan Tech University took honors in the Suspension & Traction event. University of South Florida won the Maneuverability competition and the University of Maryland - College Park was first in Acceleration. But it was Oregon State with its second place in the Mud Bog, a solid fourth in Maneuverability and a full lap on the track in the endurance event that helped them capture their second overall win of the season.  Congratulations!

SAE would like to thank the SAE Milwaukee Section, Glenn Bower and all of his hard working organizing team members.  Glenn and his diligent crew did an outstanding job planning and organizing this latest Baja SAE competition.  A big thank-you also goes out to our volunteers, sponsors and most importantly the students.  Without any of you these events could not take place!

A taste of the top 10 overall winners is below; for additional information on all the results please visit http://students.sae.org/competitions/bajasae/results/:

1^st Place - #037 - Oregon State University
2^nd Place - #001 - Centro Universitario Da FEI
3^rd Place - #005 - University of South Florida
4^th Place - #006 - Universite de Sherbrooke
5^th Place - #002 - Stony Brook University
6^th Place - #099 - Michigan Tech University
7^th Place - #064 - Ecole Polytechnique De Montreal
8^th Place - #012 - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
9^th Place - #009 - Tennessee Tech University
10^th Place - #004 - Ecole De Technologie Superieure

Thanks to everyone on a great 2009 Baja SAE season! Tentative dates and locations for the 2010 Baja SAE season are below:

     ·         Baja SAE Carolina - April 8-11; Hosted by SAE Carolina Section, Greenville, SC
     ·         Baja SAE Western Washington (Sales Presentation Event) - May 19-22; Hosted by Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
     ·         Baja SAE Rochester (Water Event) - June 10-13; Hosted by Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY