Harding’s Baja team, a group of 21 engineers who work together to build an off-road sports vehicle from scratch for competition, performed against 100 schools at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee, on April 14-17. Harding placed 6th in maneuverability and 29th overall, ranking above many larger engineering schools such as University of Missouri, Johns Hopkins University and Case Western Reserve University.

The Harding team raced their car against other schools at the Baja Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) competition. According to Rich Wells, assistant professor of engineering and physics, the vehicles compete in acceleration, maneuverability, sled pull, obstacle course and endurance.

Senior Katelyn Ludwig, the team captain, said she loved seeing the team work together to achieve its goal and watch their car succeed.

“It was great to see our car that we put thousands of hours into perform like we designed it to,” Ludwig said.

Ludwig said her role included overseeing the team dynamics and efficiency.

“I was the link between our faculty advisors and the team, and I made sure we met all of the requirements set by SAE,” Ludwig said. “I also oversaw the integration of the subsystems on the vehicle.”

Sophomore Tim DeBeof, one of the drivers said a lot of hard work went into preparing for the event.

“As a team, we designed and built the off-road car from scratch over the course of the fall and spring semesters,” DeBoef said. “Models for each part are designed in a (computer-aided design) software called SolidWorks, then brought to life through multiple fabrication processes like machining, welding, thermoforming and even sewing.”

Another driver, sophomore Connor Botes, said the first thing the team needed to do at the competition was pass engine inspection to make sure it met the regulation specifications.

“The following day (of competition), you have to pass tech inspection to make sure your vehicle meets all the rules laid out in the rule book, then you do a brake check,” Botes said. “(Then) we start getting points. There is a sales presentation, then a design presentation, then four dynamic events where different aspects of the vehicles are tested and judged.”

Botes said that at the end of the competition, there is a four-hour endurance race in which the goal is to stay on the track as long as possible.

“If something breaks, you rush the car off, fix it and get back on the track,” Botes said.

Wells said the suspension performed beautifully with both maneuverability and the obstacle course that was designed to break the cars. He said their car did not break.

According to Ludwig, one of the team’s biggest strengths was its size.

“The team had a big growth spurt this year, and we took our biggest group yet to competition,” Ludwig said. “We have a large group of extremely talented students.”

DeBoef said Baja is much more than just a group of engineering students who work together to build a vehicle.

“Our team called ‘Bison Baja’ is a group of great Christian people working to achieve the same goal of designing and building a small off-road car,” DeBoef said. “Baja is a place for me to go hang out with some of my best friends and do something I love.”