Baja Testing
Testing was conducted by a technical team, with a primary output being a Technical Inspection Log. Brakes are examined separately as was Dynamic Acceleration. The Inspection Team validate the technical competence of the vehicle build. Engine testing was conducted by an onsite representative of Briggs & Stratton who also checks the operation of the two kill-switches - one in front and one at the rear of the vehicle. A cost module was performed by each team, supposedly in advance, listing the full retail price of each component irrespective of any discounts received. A true total car cost is established for all vehicles. The data is tabulated and those vehicles inspected which claim to be below certain cost levels. In certain cases the data may be judged to be inaccurate. Such variances to the published list price in the submitted data incurs a penalty of three times the variance for that item. In general, a Baja vehicle is estimated to cost upwards of $10,000 or £5,000 with some teams spending much more.

Only teams which successfully complete all 3 parts of the testing are allowed onto the later stages including the race – this process can require 5 or 6 iterations of pit-shop maintenance to resolve the identified issues. Individuals from other teams may conduct part of the Testing after training from Honda though it should be stated that Honda Engineers maintain overall responsibility as well as the final say.

Team Captains understood that the people they were working with were volunteers. To get the best from their teams means they were required to win the co-operation of their teams to achieve their goals. This aspect of the Baja is a directly relevant skill for later life in the work place. Peter Jones, an Advisor for Auburn University, gave his view that the project was a successful technical challenge even without the complexity and expense of having to undertake engine development (perhaps this last activity falls more in to the domain of Formula SAE). Peter discussed the difference between mainstream rally tracks which might be built for 20 or so high powered motorbikes. At lower powers such as Baja, bottle necking occurs. According to Peter the optimum track design allows maximum speeds of 15mph at full throttle. The vehicles are capable of 30mph but the ground should be more demanding than that. For reference, the Briggs and Stratton engine used is the 10N-Tech, Model 20, and the exact engine number is 20543-036-E1. The only permissible modifications include air filter orientation and the exhaust filter which can be altered also.

According to Peter, the learning and team working were the best aspects. A member of the Auburn University team, was interested to work for Performance Engineering companies in the UK, an example given was Prodrive (especially due to their recent involvement with Aston Martin). The CV provided had references to the individual’s Status of Officer of the Auburn