BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 Powered By Mahindra— The Ground To Glory

The 6-Day BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 started on 24th January 2018, splitting into phases such as - BAJA HR Aptitude Test (BAT), Techincal Evaluation, Design Evaluation, Dynamic events, and the Endurance Run.

BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 HR will be followed on 29th and 30th of January 2018. It involves interviews and placements of the participants, by various sponsors.

Another BAJA event will be conducted at IIT Ropar, Punjab from 8th to 11th March 2018, due to the high number of applications, this year.

BAJA SAEINDIA is an off-road endurance event for engineering students and is conducted all over the world by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

The event involves students designing, fabricating, testing and racing a single-seater ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle), in various categories.

The first BAJA was conducted in 1976 at the University Of South Carolina, and in 2007, the event set foot in India.

Every year, hundreds of budding engineers from various colleges across India, apply for BAJA SAEINDIA to put all their mechanical/automotive theoretical knowledge into practice.

The BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 had its starting rounds (Virtual BAJA) on 14th and 15th of July 2017, at Chitkara University, Punjab. In Virtual BAJA, teams present their design using 3D-Modelling tools to the judges and attend a Viva-Voce session afterwards.

Every BAJA SAEINDIA edition has a unique theme entitled to it. The theme chosen for BAJA 2018 was, ‘Ground To Glory'.

BAJA SAEINDIA consists of two categories: eBAJA and mBAJA.

eBAJA involves electric-powered ATVs with a 48V traction motor and a Li-Ion Battery.

The idea of eBAJA was suggested by Late Former Indian President, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Meanwhile, mBAJA uses a conventional 10bhp Briggs & Stratton single-cylinder petrol engine.

The Endurance round of BAJA SAEINDIA involves teams pushing their ATVs to all kinds of terrain, in a closed circuit. The team which secures the highest number of laps in 4 hours, wins.

Points from other rounds are also taken into consideration, for the final result.

Petrol pumps and individual pitstops are set up in conjunction with the track.

The Endurance round saw the drivers wading their creation through rubbles, over rocks, dunes and into a pool of mud.

Even though all the ATVs are powered by the same engine, factors such as the Frame, Kerb Weight, Gearing Ratio, Suspension Stiffness, and of course, the skill of the driver, make a huge difference.

This is where each team's engineering expertise comes to play. Depending on sponsors, the construction of each ATV varies, within set standards.

The atmosphere of 2018 BAJA SAEINDIA was filled with pure adrenaline and one could observe teamwork, dedication and hard work at the pitstops.

Team members were also seen with tears of joy or sadness, whenever their product left or arrived at the pitstop. Those were indeed some special moments, best to be left off-camera.

Another thing worth mentioning was the sheer dedication of the volunteers, who had no problem assisting the contestants who were in need.

Some contestants were also involved in accidents, but the standardised construction of the ATVs ensured that the drivers were safe.

And those who had problems with their ATV, still pushed it as much as they could.

The Results

The BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 saw students giving their best towards a fair and tough competition. But as far as points were concerned, these teams came up.

eBAJA:

First Place: Smt. Kashibai Navale College of Engineering, Pune

First Runner-Up: Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, Andhra Pradesh

mBAJA:

First Place: DY Patil College of Engineering, Akrudi, Pune

First Runner-Up: College of Engineering, Pune

DriveSpark's Thoughts On BAJA SAEINDIA 2018

The 2018 BAJA SAEINDIA was a platform where budding engineers could test their skills to the maximum. Building a vehicle from the very base, all the way to pushing it over a variety of terrain conditions itself deserves huge appreciation.

There were no losers at BAJA SAEINDIA 2018, and there will never be.