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RIOT Racing: Baja team wins first place overall in weekend international competition
RIT’s team takes top placement at hometown event for the first time in its seven previous outings The suspension track, a twisting course of multiple railroad ties, boulders, and a treacherous curve that saw more cars upside down than upright, proved to be the biggest tests at the Baja SAE Rochester Challenge.
it. There’s a lot more to it; some sacrificed sleep to get this car made.” The approach worked as RIT placed fifth in the cost category, 10th in acceleration, fourth in the sled pull, and 14th in maneuverability, as well as first in overall dynamics, the field-based challenges. With third place in endurance— contributing major points toward an overall score— and second in suspension, RIT came out on top.
Several teams aced the course, but at the end of the weekend, RIOT Racing, Rochester Institute of Technology’s RIOT Racing, RIT’s Baja race team, took first place overall at the Baja SAE Baja race team, Rochester Challenge. It was the first time the team won ‘at home’ since it conquered the field. began hosting the international event. 2022 was the university’s seventh Of the previous time as host. Credit: Scott Hamilton/RIT seven times hosting the Rochester event, this was the first year RIT took home the big trophy. Cornell won the acceleration event and had the fastest lap time in the 4-hour endurance race in 3:41. Ecole de Rounding out the top finishers for the multi-day event Superieure would take top placements in acceleration, were: RIT, the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Ecole maneuverability, and design. de Technologie Superieure (Canada), Cornell University, and Purdue University – West Lafayette. Rochester-based event planners have a reputation for building a track that tests cars, and historically, the More than 1,500 students from 100 national and suspension event is a challenge and a crowd-pleaser. international collegiate race teams competed June 2-5 at RIT’s Gordon Field House and Hogback Hill “Our original design was even more difficult,” said Asif Motocross site in Palmyra, N.Y. Sponsored by SAE Habib ’20 (mechanical engineering technology) who International, the student design competition tested helped prepare the field. students’ engineering skills. It was also an opportunity for companies to find talented engineers. “We knew it may knock the cars around a bit, but the course tests what they built. There was enough variance During the spring semester, RIOT Racing met regularly to the course to see how the cars would move through to build its car, participating in system and equipment it,” said Habib, a former RIT Baja team member and reviews and making decisions based on what’s best now a mechanical engineer with Anduril Industries, for the team and the competition, said Mike Borodzik, based in Irvine, Calif. “More cars finished than expected. project manager for RIOT Racing. It was a great event.” “We did what we set out to do this year,” said the fourthyear mechanical engineering major from Depew, N.Y. “ A lot of time and dedication was put into this car. It is not something that is slapped together and you just run with 30 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER AUGUST 2022
Corporate sponsors such as Polaris and Honda have been involved for many years with SAE collegiate events and provide financial support as well as volunteers with engineering automotive design campus news
