HOUGHTON--Michigan Tech engineering students placed 11th and 20th with their two vehicles in the overall Midwest Mini Baja Competition held recently at the Kenworthy Motorcross Park in Troy, Ohio. The Tech teams competed against more than 1,200 students from 123 universities representing Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United States.

The three-day competition is sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International and challenges students to design a four-wheel, single seat, off-road recreational vehicle capable of negotiating rough terrain. Vehicles must be manufactured at a cost of less than $3,000 in a hypothetical production run. Teams compete in mechanical design, cost, acceleration, top speed, braking, power pull, maneuverability, hill climb, and endurance.

Michigan Tech cars placed 5th and 11th in the four-hour endurance race that tests vehicle design and driver tenacity.

Briggs & Stratton donates engines to each participating team.

"This event proved that Michigan Tech teams can compete at an elite level," said faculty advisor Dr. Brett Hamlin. "And one of the really neat things is that we won the Dayton Sportsmanship Award for the help our students offered to other competing teams during the competition. Earlier this year, our students won the Cessna Sportsmanship Award at the Western Regional Baja event held in Kansas. The willingness of our team members to drop what they were doing to help other schools pass safety inspection or rebuild cars that had failed earned the respect of everyone."

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06/11/01