Race Report

Mini Baja East, 9-11 May 2002, Morgantown, West Virginia

The Auburn University Mini Baja Team (AUMB) placed 4^th overall at the Mini Baja East Competition, held on a reclaimed mountain-topped coal mine outside Morgantown, West Virginia. With a new arrangement concept and Auburn’s first-ever chainless drivetrain, AUMB turned in a balanced, consistent performance that yielded one of its best finishes ever.

The Auburn Lady Tigers Mini Baja Team (ALTMB) came back to life this year, finishing in 36^th overall. An all-rookie Team struggled through the hard lessons of what it really takes do Baja, but earned universal respect from their fellow competitors (with a cash Perseverance Award to prove it), and laid the foundation for what looks to be a continuous, established Team.

Mini Baja is an engineering student design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Each college starts in August with an engine (305 cc Briggs & Stratton), a thick set of safety rules, and a blank sheet of paper, and proceeds to design and build the best off-road racing car that they can dream up. The right answer on design is continually evolving, and the design diversity of the cars from the different colleges is striking. In general, Mini Baja cars are designed for applications similar to sport-style All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s), but are expected to corner more effectively and be safe in rollover. Compared to a sport ATV, a Mini Baja car will be wider, longer, and lower, carry a full rollcage, and have much more sophisticated steering and suspension systems. The Mini Baja cars also float, propel, and steer in deep water.

Mini Baja began in 1976. Over 200 universities across North America (plus several overseas entries) now participate in one or more of the three regional Competitions: West, East, and Midwest. AUMB competed from 1977 to 1981 (beating 12 cars to win the East Competition in 1977), and continuously since 1991 (placing as high as third in fields of 50 to 125 cars). ALTMB first appeared in 1998 in response to SAE’s Challenge to Woman Leaders, and competed again in 2000 and 2002.

Mini Baja Teamers are more likely to be mechanical engineers, but over the years Auburn's Teams have included industrial, electrical, aerospace, biosystems, chemical, software, civil, and textile engineers as well, plus a sprinkling of non-engineers (secondary education, industrial design, criminal justice). Team alumni are widely sought after, though graduate school and the automotive industry tend to be the more popular post-graduate destinations.

East is the toughest of the three Mini Baja Competitions, and the only one involving water operations; East tends to draw only the most enthusiastic Baja Teams. Tennessee Tech won this year’s East Competition (repeating their 01 triumph), followed closely by the College of New Jersey. Ecole de Technologie Superieure (University of Quebec) squeaked out just seven more points (out of 1350) than AUMB to take third. Some other traditionally strong Baja schools (Clarkson, Central Florida, Northeastern, Rochester Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, LSU, West Point, Michigan Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Florida, Clemson, North Carolina) finished a bit further back. ALTMB wound up in 36^th after forfeiting most of a day’s worth of running events hammering their drivetrain back together again. South Alabama (bless their hearts) showed up with a hydraulic-powered car that, while certainly an engineering feat and a mechanical marvel, seemed to have an overall propulsive efficiency in the single digits.

Points start to pile up a month before the Competition, when reports are due on engineering design, and on cost for mass production (the basis for the Competition is to offer a prototype design to a fictional company seeking to build and market an off-road racing and sport vehicle). AUMB pulled down 6^th in Design (for 142 points out of 190) and 2^nd in Cost (145 out of 150). The overall design emphasized Simple, Light, Rugged, and Reliable – and an in-house designed and built all-geared drivetrain. Co-Captains Garon Griffiths and Andrew Stockton (also Drivetrain Group Leader and Father of the Gearbox) and Group Leaders Eric Barbely (Chassis), Steve Huston (Front Suspension and Steering), and Chad Snellgrove (Rear Suspension), and Project Naval Architect Ken MacAllister built a well-integrated, tightly packaged vehicle. The Cost score demonstrates their care and precision.

ALTMB was in learning mode, all-rookie, with very few mechanical engineers (2 ME’s, 2 AeroE’s, an EE, a Software E, and a Secondary Education major made up the traveling squad). They placed 31^st in Design (100 points), demonstrating their first steps up a very steep learning curve, and then indicated their diligence and Team cohesion with a 5^th place tie in Cost (120 points). Captain Meridith Grimsley (also Rear Suspension Group Leader) and Group Leaders Emily Johnson (Drivetrain), Lia Almeida (Chassis), and Candace Hartin (Front Suspension and Steering), and Project Naval Architect Renee Smeya started from scratch to design and build every piece themselves (learning how to weld was surely the most absorbing part of ALTMB’s fabrication process).

The first day of Competition is devoted to design presentation (part of the overall design score), and the dreaded Safety Inquisition. AUMB nearly sailed through safety on the first attempt, missing only an easily solved issue of hardware interpretation, and scoring 43 points out of 50 for a 9^th place tie. Also during Day 1, Honda R&D Americas, a Competition sponsor, examined each entry independently of the official Judging staff and made its own assessment of design quality. Honda awarded AUMB its 3^rd place trophy for Design Excellence. With everything set for the next day’s driving events, the Team left the site in search of a good meal and a good night’s rest.

Admittedly, ALTMB didn’t have as polished a look as many of the competitors, and the car creaked a bit. The Safety Inquisitors went to town, surpassing themselves in detailed study of the regulations, and in suggestion of how ALTMB might better conform to their spirit and letter. The one nice thing a Team gets from their first trip through the Safety wringer is a detailed list of what to fix. Fix those things only, and the Inquisitors will let you race. Well, ALTMB pulled themselves together and got cracking on that long list, working steadily after their early morning inquisition, and getting everything finished up about 3:30 the next morning. Welcome to the 24/7 excitement of motorsports competition.

Day 2 featured all the short Events: Acceleration/TopSpeed/Braking, Hill Climb, Land Maneuverability, Water Maneuverability, and Suspension & Traction. Jeremy Belcher lead off for AUMB in Acceleration/TopSpeed/Braking, scoring 31 points out of 50 for 18^th place in Acceleration, 32 out of 50 for 20^th in Top Speed, and 28 out of 50 for 9^th in Braking. Mike Zieman, Lead Electrical Engineer (actually, Mike’s a Software major), took over for the hill climb, one of the best (most challenging) on recent Baja courses. Mike pulled out a fine 6^th place, with 92 points out of 100. Competition host West Virginia University (WVU) is famous for its impossibly tight Land Maneuverability courses, and the 02 edition was right up to snuff. Adam Carter used all the tricks learned in a solid month of testing (that’s right – for a huge Auburn first, the car was available for full power trial, test, and training 30 days before departure for Competition!), but there was still no way to keep the independent rear, solid spool car from understeering into the hay bales lining the dime-sized hairpins. Still, Adam plucked up enough finesse to salvage 61 points out of 100, for 21^st. (Design note – the 03 Team is already experimenting with anti-roll bars to unweight one wheel in tight turns). Ken MacAllister took the car down to the pond for Water Maneuverability, keeping the speed up and passing the marks close aboard to rate 84 points out of 100 for 13^th. All there was to go now was Suspension & Traction, the great crowd-pleaser, and the hosts were determined not to disappoint. In a huge natural amphitheater, WVU took advantage of a rock-strewn gully and added a few truck-loads of railroad ties to build a course that suggested fear of death (high speed downhill turns), fear of dismemberment (try a dozen railroad ties at 30 mph and then count your molars), and brief excursions into higher dimensions (a 5 foot wide car goes from A to B through a 6 foot wide gully, squeezing by a dozen or so 3 foot diameter boulders). Even though only half the field could get through the course at all, Eric Barbely had no trouble taking it at speed, pulling down 91 points out of 100 for 5^th.

ALTMB’s Day 2 was a little more frustrating, starting with a desperate search for the Head Safety Judge to certify their handy work from earlier that morning, clearing them to race. The Team elected to try Land Maneuverability first to take advantage of the intact turf on the course, but could not get the car to cut any of the tight turns. Angela Morris (with Lia Almeida, the Dynamic Duo Chassis Welding Group) led off and Lia drove the second attempt. Moving on to better prospects in the Hill Climb, Candace Hartin strapped in, toed the line, got the green, leapt forward, and Crunch! A broken rear toe link had allowed an axle halfshaft to back its shaft key almost all the way out, and then sheared off what was left. The driveline was toast. But fixing toast is what Baja Teams do best. ALTMB got their car back to the pits, and the whole Team pulled together to discover the damage, deal with the disbelief, pull solutions out of their hats, and get the car back into the game, all while the day was wearing on, and Events were closing. The car was back together and running just in time to enter the Suspension & Traction, the last Event of the day. Unfortunately, the design of the car wouldn’t allow it to pass the high center at the start, and so Candace could not complete the course. However, the victory was getting the car back into running condition, ready for Day 3’s Endurance Race.

The four-hour, wheel-to-wheel Endurance Race is what Mini Baja is all about, and West Virginia has great terrain for it: mud, rocks, and mountains to satisfy anybody. Plus a dip in the pond on each 2.6 mile lap. Darrell Krueger led off for AUMB, sorting out the first lap traffic problems. Surely it was those first lap jitters that lead Michigan Tech’s driver to misjudge a steering input on the first big nose-over downhill, in full view of the pit area, causing the car to pitch end over end through three complete rotations before landing on its feet and scooting off without loosing position. Baja driving takes courage. Darrell kept the car at speed, but couldn’t quite match the leaders’ pace (sparking a full summer of technical investigation into the tao of CVTs). Matt Damato took over for the second leg, as Pit Boss Garon Griffiths handled the flow of drivers, fuel, and new air filters through the vehicle. Matt and cleanup driver Andrew Stockton kept the pace steady and the car out of the pits, finally racking up 308 points out of 400 to place 9^th in Endurance. On the way from the finish line back to the pits, the steering column sheared. Of course, the design goal of a racecar is to be engineered so close to the edge that it falls apart just as it crosses the finish line, but it’s still a bit unsettling when that actually happens.

ALTMB had been overcoming mechanical adversity throughout the Competition just to get to the Endurance Race. Since they missed the Water Maneuverability Event on Day 2, ALTMB had to go through its water stability check in the frenzy of Endurance Race morning – that being the first time the car had ever been in the water. Emily Johnson led off from the starter’s musket shot (it’s a West Virginia thing), proving that the car could deal with this course. Emily handed off to Becky Pugh, who kept up a steady lap rate before turning the seat over to Meridith Grimsley. Meridith kept her foot on the floor for her entire shift. Lia Almeida was next, starting well but having a little trouble coming out of a bump, where a steering ball joint snap ring let go. Fortunately the breakdown was near the pits. In true Baja fashion, the Team rallied to the trackside repair and got Lia back on course. Several laps later, an unanticipated fuel consumption rate left Lia out on the course and empty. Towed back to the pits and refueled, Becky strapped back into the seat for one more lap. ALTMB racked up 145 Endurance points to place 27^th. ALTMB was the last car off the Endurance course, just ahead of the chase motorcycle, rolling up just in time to start the Party in the Pits.

AUMB piled up 1057 points to finish 4^th overall, proving that a balanced performance, a well-integrated design, and freedom from on-course breakdowns are the keys to good Mini Baja results. AUMB will miss its 02 graduates (Barbely, Huston, Snellgrove, Co-Captain Stockton), but these leaders have accomplished their goal of training those who follow them, and AUMB’s prospects are bright for Mini Baja East 2003 in Orlando.

ALTMB finished with 367 points for 36^th place and a whole lot of respect. Polaris Industries, a Competition sponsor, gives a Perseverance Award (and $500) for the best Teamwork, best spirit, and the best stick-to-it-ivness. The Auburn Lady Tigers Mini Baja Team received the Award at the banquet that night to a standing ovation. Captain Grimsley and Hartin have graduated, but the other five are ready to go in 03, giving ALTMB its first returning veterans ever, and its first-ever consecutive year appearance. ALTMB03 will be building a contender.

One of the furthest reaching results of the 2002 Mini Baja season is that Auburn has agreed to host the Mini Baja East Competition in 2007, or in 2006 if needed by SAE. Hosting will place Auburn in the upper echelon of the Mini Baja and SAE worlds, forging recognition and creating links to the national and regional automotive industries. It will be a tremendous opportunity for Auburn to demonstrate its skill and commitment by putting on a top quality Competition. Of course, there are plenty of details to iron out. First is the need for volunteers to plan courses and Events, coordinate entries and activities, formulate a scoring and reporting system, physically build the course, and do, well, everything. SAE’s brand new Deep South Section, comprised singularly of Alabama and its growing automotive industry community, will aid the Auburn community considerably in this pursuit. Second, a site is needed. The site must support: access and pit areas for upwards of 50 Teams; challenging terrain for a 2 to 3 mile Endurance Race course; open space for the Day 2 short Events; and access to deep water. There is a lot to chew over between now and 2006. Watch this space.