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Mahindra Baja SAE - The Ultimate Experience

India has gained a significant growth in motorsports for the past few years.  A new form called the Baja SAE is now-a-days gaining lot of popularity along with the motorsports.


My name is Deep Pawar. I have been the Race Driver cum Design engineer from the team TOMCAR Vikings (Indus Institute Ahmedabad, Gujarat) for the Baja SAE competition 2013. Since July 2012 when the selection process of our team members was done till February 2013, the only thing on our mind was – to make our team’s buggy the best. Me along with my 24 team members & our Vice-Captain Mr. Shivpal Rana ( who played a crucial role) were competing to create a buggy that would clear all the quality tests and survive in the final endurance event. This would involve doing the maximum number of laps around the 4 km track.  Our team stood on 12 position all over India and 1st amongst teams participating from Gujarat. Even though it is extracurricular, the hands on experience this offers is better than learning in the classroom.
Let  me give some more detail about Baja SAE.

So, what is BAJA SAE?

Baja SAE is an intercollegiate competition (race) run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The event is held at the NATRIP facility at Pithampur, near Indore.

Who can participate?

Teams of engineering students all across india design and develop (fabricate) their vehicle. They are given the common engine which is provided by “Briggs And Stratton” having a displacement of 300cc delivering 10bhp of power output with 14 Nm of torque.

What is the process?

The event starts with basic Static Evaluation round named VIRTUAL BAJA which comprises of Design Evaluation, Cost Evaluation and Marketing Presentation. Once a team clears this round, it is eligible for the baja race at Pithampur Indore.

What are the challenges?

The 1st and the important challenge is to clear the Virtual round, then the actual game starts. The team has to build the vehicle according to the rules and norms listed in the Rule book of BAJA SAE.
There are static and dynamic events before the main Endurance race.
Static event include written reports, presentations, design evaluations, marketing and sponsorship  report, etc.
Dynamic event  include Hill climb, maneuverability event, wood crawls, suspension and traction events, tilt test, etc.
After these two events there is the main event called  “The Endurance Test”
Getting More to learn.
“It is a true engineering project. The students gain a lot, getting to learn about the fundamentals and applying them effectively. They also learn to communicate about their product efficiently

Opportunities

Baja is also known for the job opportunities it offers for some of the participants with many auto majors, not least M&M, hiring talent from here every year. Following the final endurance event, the most consistent team in India’s Baja scene, the College of Engineering, Pune, bagged top honours, with their buggy weighing only 160 kg. For most of the participants, though, it was more about being out there on the tracks rather than winning.


Mahindra & Mahindra, besides being the lead sponsor, not only offers financial assistance to some teams but also conducts most of the tests while taking the lead in the overall organisation of the event.

The event sponsorship, led by Mahindra, saw other sponsors such as Volvo, Polaris, John Deere, Altair, Chevrolet, ARAI, Bharat Petroleum, Cummins and Wurth, among others. Dignitaries, such as Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director & President, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, Its heartening to see thousands of students coming together once again to celebrate the spirit of BAJA. . This platform gives young engineering talent an opportunity to showcase their skills, innovate and acquire a real life experience posed with challenges which is critical to their success in the long term. Mahindra & Mahindra is delighted to be associated with BAJA SAEINDIA 2013 as the title sponsor and with BAJA, we are taking forward the philosophy of Mahindra Rise to the next level.


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