Report by Chris Chow

President of USF SAE

Waukesha, Wisconsin - June 10, 2004: The Society of Automotive Engineers at the University of South Florida has just completed the Midwest Mini Baja competition, held at the Aztalan Motocross track in Wisconsin. USF scored extremely well in several categories

1. First in the Top Speed event, and

2. First in the Maneuverability event. USF swept the Maneuverability events this year, having previously earned top honors at Mini Baja West and East.

3. Second in the endurance race, and

4. Fourth overall.

Out of 136 teams registered, about 100 passed safety inspection, still far too many for the 1-mile Aztalan track. The field was split into two heats, which were run for 1 hour. Then, the top 30 in each heat advanced to the 2 1/2 hour main event. This reduced the number of racers and made for a very fast race, because only the most reliable, fastest entries were on the track.

The Midwest Mini Baja is the third and final event of the 2004 North American Mini Baja series. Our fourth-overall finish, combined with fifth overall at the Mini Baja West race in Portland, and with third overall at Mini Baja East in Quebec, put USF in first place for the national championship. USF scored 2593 points this year, beating second-place Rochester Institute of Technology by 122 points. The team is already planning for next year's entry, which will be lighter, more powerful, and more reliable than this year's. The goal? First place overall at all three Mini Baja competitions, a feat not accomplished in the last decade, possibly never before.

USF SAE Contact Info:

sae@eng.usf.edu

813-974-2937 (voice)

813-785-5202 (cell # for Chris Chow, president of USF SAE)

813-974-5833 (FAX)

Previous Report

http://me.eng.usf.edu/menews/mini_baja_2004.htm

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