80 engineering colleges, 2500 students, one aim. To build and race a machine that will stand the most testing conditions of competition and endurance. This was the formula for the 2010 Baja SAE competition in Indore, which was a roaring and rejoicing success

There is something about the education system in the land which puts a great deal of stress on stating how the wheel was invented rather than what could be done to make it turn even more efficiently. Learning on the job is an idea which many are waking up to in India today but then the out of class education which so many had never attempted before is, I am glad to say, here to stay. And focusing directly on the automotive industry in the land, I must say that the next breed of automobile engineers coming out of our colleges must be complimented for driving home the point that it is hands on translation of theory into practice which will serve the automotive cause so very well.

You must be wondering what has got me to go so dewey-eyed on education but when you have over 2500 students from over 80 engineering colleges across the country converging at the NATRiP facility at Pithampur near Indore, one cannot but agree that Baja SAE India exercise has now metamorphosed from being just an event into a movement which packs in innovation, grit, determination, planning, marketing, and what have you. It is clear that for up and coming racing car drivers, a proper course of action is more or less penciled in to get into the sport from karts to FISSMEs and then on to the Formula Rolons but the direction for engineering students to get into doing a complete car and also putting it to the test against fellow beginners is less well known.

This is where the Baja SAE India programme kicks in. The brain child of Dr Pawan Goenka, this is an annual open competition, now in its third edition, for college students to design and build a car using the very same power pack (in this case an engine from Kohler). It is not just about building a car which works but also the fact that this competition enshrines in its rules and regulations the fact that after the cars have been built, they have to be put through their paces across a myriad of events where the cars maneuverability, straight line dynamics, performance, braking prowess, gradeability, endurance, et al are put to the test. The mega five-day event at Pithampur saw this confluence of youth, colleges, industry boffins and big suits, get embroiled into a very pleasurable activity.

I had the chance to be either at Indore for the Baja SAE India event or the Sriperambudur race track in Chennai that very weekend and I was glad that I made the trip to Indore. No I dont want to rub in the fact that we had over 5000 people there on the third day of the event where the mega three hour endurance race was run over a gnarly dirt track which had everything and more for these small dune demolishers to strut their stuff on. The sheer thought processes which we saw our young budding engineers outfit their contraptions with was mind numbing we had four wheel drive, we had front wheel drive, we had rear wheel drive, we had four wheel steering, we even had a car with a driver controlled tilting mechanism to help make it go quicker through the bends, we had cars with CVT transmission systems, cars with GPS navigation, cars with lithium ion cells, the sheer menu of bits on display was enough to make the average engineering college professor turn dizzy with delight.

What was also a great point of mention was the fact that it wasnt all about colleges from the metros which tried to bulldoze their way into the competition. In fact the teams from places like Dhanbad, Bijapur, Jodhpur, Rourkela, Trichy, Calicut, etc which showed exemplary flair, innovation and appeal plus also spell-binding team-work to state that where there is a wheel, there indeed is a way!

The competition had a total of 155 entries for 2010 out of which 80 made the final cut. All of them lined up at the NATRiP facility in Pithampur where they took in the static and dynamic events on the first two days before the grand finale on day three took in the three hour endurance event where 75 cars took the start. Now just pause and think back to which motorsport event in India in recent memory have had seventy-five cars on the start line?

There were winners of course and the organizers had done a great job in getting stalwarts of industry to judge the efforts of the automotively-charged teams. The organization was brimming with enthusiasm which was as welcome as the enthusiasm proferred by the contestants. Going by what transpired at Indore, I am clearly of the opinion that the day isnt that far off when we could be seeing a Indian version of either a Ross Brawn or an Adrian Newey emerge from events like this. Jai Ho!

List of Winners

OVERALL WINNERS

1st: Team Wings - Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Aurangabad 798 points out of 1000. 2nd: Team Mechismu Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. 796/1000 points 3. Team Baja Bhais PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore. 790/1000 points.

Endurance Award Winners ARAI Trophy

1st: Team Auto Knights Dr. P G H College of Engg. & Technology, Bijapur. 2nd: Team Wings - Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Aurangabad

DYAMIC EVENT AWARDS Max Speed Award by BPCL Speed

1st: Team Garuda NXT from Dr. M G R Educational & Research Institute 2nd: Team Bijasons, Jodhpur

Acceleration Award by BPCL Speed

1st: Team Bijasons, Jodhpur 2nd: Team Resonance Racing, College of Engineering, Pune

Raftaar Award by ICAT

1st: Team Garuda NXT from Dr. M G R Educational & Research Institute 2nd: Team DCE Xtreme, Delhi College of Engineering

Hill Climb Award by John Deere India Pvt. Ltd.

1st: Team Speeding Saddles, G.H.R.C.E.M. 2nd: Team Resonance Racing, College of Engineering, Pune

Maneuverability Award by Anand Automotive Systems Ltd.

1st: Team RPM from Punjab Engineering College. 2nd: Team Immortals from Krishna Institute of Engineering & Technology.

The No.37 greens from Team Wings of MIT Aurangabad rejoice after grabbing the overall winners prize of Rs 5 lakh

The No. 7 Baja cart of Team Auto Knights from Dr PGH College of Engg, Bijapur crosses the finish line