Baja SAE Auburn 2012

WARRENDALE, Pa., April 24, 2012 - Baja Season Officially Opens with a Cornell Win in Auburn

 

The 2012 Baja SAE season has officially begun as teams traveled to Auburn, Alabama. Baja SAE Auburn 2012 was hosted by Auburn University and held at their National Center for Asphalt Technology located in Opelika, Alabama. 87 Teams made the trip for the four day event from April 19-22, 2012.

 

Thursday morning began with teams making their way to the NCAT Facility and being assigned paddock spaces along with registration. By the end of the day NCAT was bustling with team activity having teams visiting the Briggs & Stratton garage for their overall general evaluation and a governor (RPM) setting check.

 

 

Friday continued with Briggs & Stratton and with technical inspections of all Baja vehicles by the National Honda Technical Inspectors awarding the first 16 teams to pass through tech on their first try with a brand new Briggs & Stratton Engine. New this year Baja SAE Auburn 2012 implemented a new design process that had teams divided into design bays where they were able to meet with the design judges that read their design reports and then judged their cars. The Polaris Design finalists were:

 

 

008 Rochester Institute of Technology

 

 

027 Oregon State University

 

 

019 University of Maryland – Baltimore County

 

 

047 University of Louisville

 

 

001 Tennessee Tech University

 

 

007 Queen's Univ - Ontario Canada 035 University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

 

 

010 Cornell University

 

 

 

 

Polaris completed their design review Sunday in between the Honda Awards Banquet and the Awards Ceremony crowning team 027 Oregon State University as the Polaris Overall Design Winner, followed by 019 University of Maryland – Baltimore County, and 010 Cornell University.

 

 

Saturday kicked off dynamic day with three impressive courses and an acceleration run all designed and manufactured by the NCAT Facility and Auburn University Alumni. Teams competed in the Magna Maneuverability Course through the trees, the Suspension Course that boosted a rock garden and the “Northeastern Jump”. They also ran their Baja vehicles through a custom built Hill Climb Event created out of a hillside on the facility’s grounds.

 

 

On Sunday teams prepared for the Endurance Race. The 1.9 mile course was laid out through the backwoods of the NCAT facility and boasted obstacles that included: loading docks, rock gardens, a sand trap, “land mines”, logs, tabletops, and jersey barriers. Spectators watched as cars were gridded into lines of ten and using a lighting system cars were released a line at a time with ten second intervals between each line. The four hour endurance race had no clear top finishers throughout as teams headed to the top they were knocked out by a black flag or rollover causing them to fall back and in some cases make it back up to the top again. In the end the top three Honda Endurance Winners were:

 

 

1^st - 027 Oregon State University

 

 

2^nd - 038 Northeastern University

 

 

3^rd- 041 Pittsburg State University

 

 

Following the Honda Endurance Race teams headed back to the main tent to have a BBQ Awards Banquet sponsored by Honda where teams cleaned up and prepared to hear the results of their week. Overall Winners of the 2012 Baja SAE Auburn Competition are:

 

 

1^st 010 Cornell University

 

 

2^nd 027 Oregon State University

 

 

3^rd 008 Rochester Institute of Technology

 

 

4^th 038 Northeastern University

 

 

5^th 047 University of Louisville

 

 

6^th 019 University of Maryland – Baltimore County

 

 

7^th 041 Pittsburg State University

 

 

8^th 039 University of Oklahoma

 

 

9^th 042 John’s Hopkins University

 

 

10^th 018 University of Tennessee- Chattanooga

 

 

 

 

SAE would like to thank everyone that helped with the success of this competition including: Auburn University and their staff that worked the event, National Center for Asphalt Technology, Magna Powertrain, Briggs and Stratton, Polaris, Honda, and all the volunteers, alumni, and sponsors that came out to the site and worked tirelessly behind the scenes months before and especially the lead organizers Dr. Peter Jones. SAE Staff thanks you all for your dedication and commitment to making Baja SAE Auburn 2012 truly a successful event.

 

 

Baja SAE Auburn 2012 Awards

Acceleration Award

 

 

1^st Place 039 University of Oklahoma

 

 

2^nd Place 010 Cornell University

3^rd Place 027 Oregon State University

Hill Climb Event Award

1^st Place 004 Universite de Sherbrooke

2^nd Place 010 Cornell University

3^rd Place 006 Ecole De Technologie Superieure

Magna Maneuverability Award

 

 

1^st Place 039 University of Oklahoma

 

 

2^nd Place 017 North Carolina State Univ - Raleigh

3^rd Place 042 Johns Hopkins University

Suspension Award

 

 

1^st Place 010 Cornell University

2^nd Place 032 LeTourneau Univ

3^rd Place 008 Rochester Institute of Technology

Polaris Overall Design Award

1^st Place 027 Oregon State University

2^nd Place 019 University of Maryland- Baltimore County

3^rd Place 010 Cornell University

 

 

Overall Cost Award 

1^st Place 019 University of Maryland- Baltimore County

2^nd Place 035 University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

3^rd Place 021 University of Central Florida

Honda Overall Dynamic Events Award

1^st Place 010 Cornell University

2^nd Place 039 University of Oklahoma

3^rd Place 027 Oregon State University

Honda Endurance Award

1^st Place 027 Oregon State University

 

 

2^nd Place 038 Northeastern University

 

 

3^rd Place 041 Pittsburg State University

 

 

Briggs & Stratton Overall Performance Award

1^st Place 010 Cornell University

 

 

2^nd Place 027 Oregon State University

3^rd Place 008 Rochester Institute of Technology

4th Place 038 Northeastern University

5th Place 047 University of Louisville

6th Place 019 University of Maryland- Baltimore County

 

 

7th Place 041 Pittsburg State University

8th Place 039 University of Oklahoma

9th Place 042 Johns Hopkins University

10th Place 018 University of Tennessee – Chattanooga