SAE BAJA 2017: Of student projects, flying buggies and the Pit of Doom!

Sitting in bus, enroute to the venue of yet another BAJA race, I kept reliving memories from my college days, of our own frivolous efforts to put up a team and participate in an ‘extra-curricular’ activity. The inept boys from my engineering college weren’t up for the task, and having witnessed the competition this year myself, I must say that I am glad to have conceded defeat three years ago. The dexterity and dedication I observed at the 2017 SAE BAJA made me wonder about the experience these students have gained from this out-of-classroom education experience – skills which I have clearly failed to pick up.

This SAE BAJA event this year was special as it commemorated a decade of improvement and betterment –  only made possible through perseverance and overwhelming participation from all corners of the country.  From a humble beginning of 27 teams in 2008 to 118 buggies today, patiently waiting in a triangular grid for the flag off to final endurance challenge – they have definitely come a long way.

Over the last couple of days, these student teams have been conducting a series of gruesome tests on the four-wheel single-seater all-terrain buggies which they built from scratch during their spare hours. The buggies had to go through various assessments for static evaluation and dynamic scrutiny. The final event was an endurance race, lasting two hours for eBAJA (electric vehicles) and four for mBAJA (ICE vehicles) on the back-breaking endurance track laid out just for this purpose.

The general reaction on hearing that the buggies have been made by students themselves is to exclaim, “How rudimentary they must be!” And there is also a misconception that the endurance track itself must be a walk in the park. But people couldn’t more wrong. These buggies are not the run-of-the-mill box cars that make up for a soap box derby. In fact, the students have to adhere to a stringent rulebook with attention paid to even trifling measurements in order to qualify for the endurance stage. They could probably give any established car-maker a run for their money. And the endurance track was straight from hell. Made up of five sectors, spanning over five kilometres, the track was the toughest one till date. It involved a horrid thoroughfare which would be a nightmare to any production off-road vehicle, let alone buggies fabricated by college students.

Few sections were so arduous, the cars had to be really well-built to not break into two. The ‘boobytrap’ was a bumpy stretch followed by a jarring muddy farm patch. Sector three’s ‘kalapaani’ and ‘herringbone’ were so diabolic that they were inaccessible by foot. These drivers however, confidently made their way through knolls, ridges, and dunes soldiering onto the ‘glitch bridge’, and into the ‘muddy bowl’.

Then came a stretch of shallow water and a steep climb which required skillful handling and a fabulous demonstration of proper technique, pace and direction. So perilous was the terrain that a tractor had to be stationed there to rescue the buggies which were unable to enter the pit of doom. The competitive spirit was furious; the drivers weren’t afraid to lock wheels, overtake, and pace through the sections to keep themselves in the fray. To watch these cars fly past, buggies going air-borne, toppling over, slushing through water, and breaking itself at places unimaginable, was an unbelievable experience in itself. 

The decade edition also celebrated the entry of an international team. Blackhawks Motorsports from BITS Pilani Dubai also participated this year. This team fabricated the buggy at their college premises and even got parts manufactured locally at much expense. In fact, an SAE BAJA official even paid a visit to the team in Dubai when on a trip there and came back impressed. The buggy was dismantled and shipped to India where they faced more difficulties with the customs officials than actually building it. Customs found it difficult to comprehend why a student project had a gasoline engine.

After the team received the buggy in India, they were appalled to find both the front callipers damaged, the fuel tank was missing a fuel cap and oddly enough, it had nuts and bolts inside it. Getting the car sorted here proved a lot tougher than what the team had reckoned and they were unable to participate in the endurance race. All in all, it was a strenuous and costly affair for them. But the buggy looked brilliant on paper though and we hope to see the Blackhawks at the next iteration.

Participation at a BAJA event predominantly partaken is generally dominated by boys from engineering college. So, it came as a delightful surprise to learn of the entry of three all-girl teams – Team Yantriki from Delhi, Team Zenith of Pune and Team Ziba Racers from Andhra Pradesh – all of them bunging a spanner and maybe an oxy-acetylene welder too in the face of gender stereotyping and discrimination. The competitive spirit was strong amongst these girls and they were ready for whatever the competition threw at them. Yantriki’s buggy was well built, but the motor mounting gave way unexpectedly. They got it fixed by welding, but they eventually had to withdraw from the endurance race after their drive shaft broke. Team Zenith had a good run and managed five laps until the booby trap got the best of the buggy. Both the teams took back a lot of enlightening experience and promised to come back stronger and harder next year, as they wished to see more girls participate in years to come.

At every event there is a group of people ceaselessly and thanklessly working towards the success of the show – the volunteers. These guardian angels in yellow uniform were there all over the place, keeping a watchful eye on all the cars and drivers. The volunteers were standing out there in the scorching sun – warning the drivers of the route, helping out buggies which were stuck to get back on the track, arranging tractors to pull them off the track, waving yellow flags and also taking on crowd-management. These were the students of local colleges who came forward selflessly to volunteer for such a demanding task. Truly, without them the event wouldn’t have been the same.

As I made my way back home, I took back new and happy memories and one single illuminating thought- the prowess and dedication in making a buggy from scratch that could sustain such a severe beating definitely proves one thing – the future of India’s technical excellence is in the competent hands indeed.