BAJA SAE India 2016 is a roaring success

It all started almost a year back when students from 325 engineering colleges signed up to participate in the ninth edition of the BAJA SAE India event this February. The concept of BAJA SAE India is to have an inter-college completion on a national level which simulates a realistic environment for students to design, build, improvise, and compete with other teams in various activities. The event tests the team efforts involved in various aspects in the course throughout the experience. The goal of every team is to build a prototype all-terrain buggy which should be functional, safe and enjoyable at the same time.

With event being held at the NATRAX racetrack in Pithampur (Indore, Madhya Pradesh) only 110 could qualify to come with a vehicle fit to compete in the event. The buggies are scrutinised by the inspectors and are allowed to participate only after complying with the required specifications. Next comes the static event which is held on the first two days and which include the technical inspection, costs incurred in the build, vehicle design, and finally a sales presentation of the vehicle on which points are provided. The dynamic event is a set of different activities which the buggy has to perform to complete the tasks effectively. This section of the event includes an acceleration test, hill climb or traction test, manoeuvrability test, certain special tests and lastly the main endurance race. The endurance race runs for 4 hours around the 5.2km track and carries a major chunk of points which are awarded on the ability of the vehicle to last either the longest time or covering the maximum distance.

Compared to the previous year a handsome number of teams were able to complete the endurance course this time round, in spite of having a track which was far tougher. Completing it in the quickest and most effective way was Team Nemesis from College of Engineering, Pune, who claimed the number one position for the BAJA Vehicle of the Year 2016. The team received nine awards apart for the overall championship title. The second place was won by Stallions Racing from Alard College of Engineering, Pune, followed by The Conrods Off-Road Racing from SRM University, Chennai.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

The 2016 BAJA event also had the second outing of the eBAJA category which had zero emission producing buggies run purely by electric motors. The powertrain was adopted from Mahindra’s Reva electric city commuting vehicle. The eBAJA category has 32 entries, out of which 11 qualified to participate in the endurance event. The best overall eBAJA Team Award was given to Stallion Racing from Smt. Kashibai Navale College of Engineering in Pune. In the durability category of the eBAJA vehicles Team Vidyuyashwa of Deogiri College of Engineering from Aurangabad bagged the first prize.

The 2016 BAJA SAE India event had the participation of over 8,000 students, all of whom were packed with enthusiasm, determination, and the zeal to achieve which was palpable in the air. At the same time the teams enjoyed the event and have a lot more to take back home with them. We expect next year’s edition of the BAJA event to be bigger and more exciting for participants and enthusiasts.