Cal Poly’s Baja race team finished 5th overall recently during the Baja SAE Oregon competition, cracking the top ten in several categories.
“Our long hours and hard work preparing for this competition led to our success, and we were able to complete the endurance race without having to pull our car out of the race at any point,” said team manager Robyn Ribet, a mechanical engineering student from Buellton.
Baja competitions challenge engineering students to design and build an off-road vehicle that can survive rough terrain. Students must function as a team to not only design, build, test, promote, and race a vehicle, but also to generate financial support for their project. The event was capped off by a 4-hour endurance race.
“It takes skill to drive these vehicles,” Junior Gonzales, a mechanical engineering major from San Diego, said prior to the race. “You’re slipping and sliding and going over obstacles. It’s a lot of fun.”
Close to 100 teams from around the world competed in Oregon. Capping off the year, Cal Poly’s tam placed 3rd in maneuverability, 6th in the rock crawl category, 8th in hill climb and 12th in acceleration.
