BAJA SAE Update: UNC Charlotte Holds Shakedown Competition

On Friday, March 22nd, the UNC Charlotte Baja SAE team held the inaugural Baja Shakedown competition at Dirt World Motorsports Complex in Statesville, North Carolina. The event was implemented as an organized testing event prior to the first official SAE competition at Tennessee Tech on April 11th.

Four teams were registered for the event, bringing the car count to six cars. Due to technical difficulties, four cars took the green flag at 1:35 PM for a four-hour endurance race. Each team, one from Charlotte, one from NC State, and two from Clemson, had their fair share of mechanical issues during the race, which truly tested the teams’ abilities to work together and persevere. Over the four-hour race, the results were determined by the amount of laps completed. Charlotte won the competition, completing 78 total laps. They were followed by NC State, who completed 66 laps, and then Clemson’s two cars, completing 42 and 30 laps respectively.

Prizes were awarded to both visiting teams for their finishes. These prizes were provided by the gracious sponsors of the event – M2 Performance Solutions, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Stock Car Steel, Design Engineering Inc., Bayou Betty Cajun Express, and Dirt World Off Road Motorsports Complex.