Sanilac Career Center Baja Team stuns in Houghton
On February 13, 2016 the Sanilac Career Center Engineering & Design SAE Baja team was honored to compete in The Winter Baja Race, hosted by Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI, against some of the finest SAE Baja Teams in the United States. The Sanilac Career Center SAE Baja Team is the only high school group in the world to compete in these competitions. We are proud there are dedicated and creative students interested in engineering and design, who are willing to put forth the commitment required to be part of such high level competitions each year. Additionally, we are thankful that Dave Crompton continues to lead and encourage these students with such passion. As expected, competing on the high-speed, snow covered track in Houghton, MI once again proved to be a thrilling challenge for the students regarding vehicle design and driver skill. The SCC Baja Team showed up in full force with 4 vehicles and 9 team members. The team worked well together to keep the vehicles running, address challenges and finish the race. Competing in this Baja event, the 4th largest in the country, was instrumental in allowing our team to test the vehicles and discover areas of improvement as the vehicles are readied for another national competition on April 14-17, 2016 in Cookeville, TN. The SAE Baja is an intercollegiate design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in which student teams from colleges and universities, in the United States and around the World, design and build small off road cars which meet stringent engineering specifications for the competition. The vehicles, all requiring engines of the same specifications, must then be designed & built with safety, ease of maintenance & ease of transportation, while successfully racing on rough terrain. All vehicles must abide by SAE rules, pass the technical inspections and meet all safety regulations before being qualified to race. Each team must also provide written reports explaining the engineering and design process used in the development of their vehicle, give presentations and undergo design evaluations in order to ensure their vehicle meets sound engineering principles. Final team ranking encompasses judging in all aspects of the engineering & design process, as well as vehicle performance on the race track, so that teams are ranked for their overall engineering & design abilities in the competition. The upcoming race will include 100 teams from the engineering departments of universities and colleges around the world. Our students are looking for sponsors to help them fund this competition. If you or your company would like to assist in the funding of this event for our students, please contact the Sanilac Career Center Engineering & Design Department at (810)-648-4700 ext 4223 for sponsorship information. We appreciate all those in our communities who encourage and support our students!
2016 SCC Baja members present at the MTU Winter Baja are: Jonathan Thompson and Cody Mosure from Deckerville; Jarod Wilson, Aaron Lefler, Andy Bilbrey, Dalton Mcnary and Seth Ferguson from Marlette; Chad Fuller and Keegan Gailbraith from Croswell/Lexington.
Thank you to our current sponsors: Miller Welders, Airgas, Margie Crompton, Deb and Gary Morden, Scott Westbrook, Barnums Bug Barn, Nelson Manufacturing, Justin Magri, Alan Ferguson and SCC Graphics.
