Not very long ago, the average Indian motoring enthusiast would associate the term Baja (pronounced bah-hah) with an off-road event involving ATVs, something not unlikely a sand buggy, sporting sophisticated suspension parts bin and small capacity motors.
Lately though, Baja has been in the national scope, given the fact that some engineering college have gone ahead and participated in international level Baja competitions. However, these numbers were limited to a handful, financial constraints being the major reason apart from limited expert guidance required to build and compete with a vehicle completely built from scratch.
Realising the need for a level and accessible playing field, SAE India, a group affiliated to SAE International, the Society of Automotive Engineers, organised the first Baja competition in the country. K C Vora from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) was the man behind this event. With the support of SAE India president Pawan Goenka, the first ever Baja competition in India was held last December.
Organising an event like this on a national level was a herculean task, to put it mildly. All aspects need to operate like clockwork ensuring students could fully concentrate on putting finishing touches to their vehicles, rather than worry about the fading daylight. However, the task for the organisers was slightly tougher than arranging round-the-clock lighting. For starters, finding the required terrain to stage a Baja event was an arduous task, considering the need for a challenging track which throws a variety of hurdles at the vehicles. Accommodating water crossings, fast corners, steep ascents and fast downhills followed by slow corners meant that a decent sized piece of land is needed, with habitable facilities for the participants in close vicinity. The organisers were initially looking at one of the participating colleges as venue for the event. However they had a stroke of luck when Sunil Chaturvedi, the CEO and project director of National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) offered 268 acres of land from NATRIP’s Pithampur site as a permanent site. But the assurance of getting the aforementioned piece of land wasn’t enough. SAE India got the possession of the land on November 15, little more than a month before the event was scheduled. Ahead was the towering task of preparing the track, and then providing lodging and lighting facilities for more than 400 participants and faculty members. The task of constructing a challenging track was made difficult still, since the land had to be cleared of the wild grass before the track layout could be decided. Former motocross rider Shyam Kothari came to the rescue and transformed the unfriendly terrain into a favourable one for an off road event and before laying out the track.
The event kicked off on December 21 and apart from top executives from the automotive industry was also graced by racing stars Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok. The common viewpoint of the industry representatives was the recognition of the fact that India is slowly emerging as a leading hub for product design and development on the global automotive stage and fresh talent needs to be tapped through unique platforms, ones which encourages out-of-classroom practical training and teamwork rather than just getting by with theoretical knowledge.
The entire event was spread over three days, classified by the nature of rounds. Day one comprised of the static evaluation round in which the jury evaluated the vehicle design from an engineering viewpoint, the technology and innovation applied and vehicle designing from an aesthetic as well as ergonomics point of view. Out-of-the-box thinking and originality was appreciated. The vehicles were judged on the costing factor as well. Each team also gave a presentation assuming that they were producing 4,000 vehicles a year and why an end customer should buy their vehicle over the others available. The jury for the static rounds comprised of 29 experts from the auto industry and automobile journalists, including our own Ed who was on the panel for judging the overall vehicle design.
Day two promised some action as vehicles hit the track for acceleration, braking, top speed, maneuverability and the entertaining hill climb tests. Although, few teams had managed to complete the acceleration and braking tests late on the first day, the remaining teams were able to put the show on the road only by day two. The organisers showed high level of professionalism, with Racelogic VBox data logging equipment being used to time the acceleration, top whack and braking runs of the participants.
The third day was eagerly awaited since all the vehicles were slated to hit the track together for the first time. Defying expectations, 20 teams started the endurance event, which had been shortened to 16 laps of the 3.4km trial track from the original 4-hour endurance. The track included fast corners followed by sharp corners, snaking chicanes and a steep uphill preceding the fast downhill section and even a small water crossing. The tension among the participants was nearing snapping point, all teams making last ditch efforts to ensure that the vehicle would hold up through the length of the endurance race. Once the dust from the flag-off cleared, it was PIET College of engineering, Pune which emerged in the lead with NIT Surathkal in hot pursuit. However, PIET started to pull away from the rest of the field slowly and had a comfortable half lap lead by lap four over its closest challenger, still being NIT Surathkal.
By lap six, the field was thoroughly juggled, with fast vehicles lapping slower ones and yet others pitting frantically for a driver change or fixing minor or major niggles. Amidst this chaos, NIT Surathkal was making unnoticed progress, and by the time anyone knew it, they were breathing down PIET’s neck. Suddenly, the whole atmosphere was charged up, the spectators being unexpectedly treated to a magnificent battle. By lap nine, both teams were just a vehicle’s length apart, NIT Surathkal pushing to the limit, to catch up with the consistently quick PIET team. On lap 10, the battle was bumper-to-bumper and half way through the same lap, both the vehicles actually traded paint. The yellow flags were out and both participants ground to a dead stop. Spectators close to the action even made it on to the track, despite repeated attempts from the marshals to rein them in. Complete mayhem ensued, with rest of the spectators awaiting the outcome of the unexpected ruckus with bated breath. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the two front-runners re-emerged from the nucleus of swarming spectators. This time around though, NIT Surathkal had stepped on the gas earlier and consequently was in the lead for the first time during the race. PIET Pune was hot on their heels though, and the fight for the first place was on again both going like bats out of hell. It was a just a matter of another lap when NIT Surathkal had a lapse, entering a corner too hot and consequently running wide at the exit. The door was open for PIET Pune to snatch the top position from NIT once again, which it did and retained till the end of the race to take the chequered flag. The last spot on the podium was taken by Rajalakshmi College of Engineering, Chennai.
The endurance event was hugely entertaining, even taking the organizers by surprise considering the unanticipated wheel-to-wheel duel for top position. Honestly speaking, I had envisaged many vehicles ending the race with mechanical failures considering that by the end of day one (static rounds), some teams did not have their buggies even in drivable state, not even considering dynamic test worthiness. My belief was further reinforced when the endurance event was shortened from the predetermined four hours to fixed 16 laps. The race conclusion, therefore, caught me off guard and all credit has to be given to participants’ efforts. As a spectator and more so as a journalist, I couldn’t have asked for more from a maiden event like this, all the participants having prepared their own vehicles and raced them. Even though only two teams finished the stipulated 16 laps, all competitors put up an admirable show, showcasing copious amounts of teamwork and fighting spirit.
The three-day spectacle concluded with an extremely motivating prize distribution ceremony, with awards being given for winner and runners-up positions in not less than ten categories, covering all static and dynamic events. The next edition of Baja SAEIndia will be held in January 2009, since some participants had to miss exams to participate in the event; while others came in just after their exams truncated, giving them little time to set up their vehicles as intended.
This being a maiden event of its kind, there were valuable lessons to be learnt - for the participants as well as the organisers. No doubt the teams did put up a commendable show in spite of having close to zero hands-on experience in this sort of a competition, the workshops held by the organisers being the only exposure.
In spite of this, some teams showcased a high level of ingenuity and technical finnese, incorporating various sophisticated mechanisms in their vehicles. One of such vehicles was prepared by the team of Amity School of Engineering, New Delhi. Their ATV featured a working 4WD system, complete with a customized gearbox even incorporating a low-range. Another team which came to our notice was the PES College of Engineering, Pune. The front suspension design which allowed for an extra trailing arm to be integrated resulted in a much higher travel than what is achievable on a conventional fixed end strut. This vehicle also had a brake-bias adjustor, indigenously designed by usage of four brake fluid reservoirs and master-cylinders, one for each wheel.
Keeping the sophisticated race tech aside, some teams seemed unaware of the basics of automobile design. Case in point was this team who had mounted the engine such that it ended up being suspended 2.5 feet from the driveshaft, which then had to be linked via a complex set of chain drives. With a set-up like this one cannot expect any stability whatsoever under cornering considering the extremely high centre of gravity. Some vehicles were so over-engineered they looked more suited for a demolition derby, rather than a Baja event. And then there were the tyres. Everything from road car tyres to competition Baja tyres were used. This might be a consequence of availability rather than unawareness, and since competition tyres can only be bought through the gray channels, the cost is also one of the deterrent factors. If such competitions are held consistently, special purpose tyres can be manufactured indigenously.
It must be mentioned that some engineering institutes played spoilsport by refusing to let their students use their workshops, which meant the participants were left to use some other shoddy workshops, paying for the same. Some colleges rejected reschedule of examinations, in spite of the considerable number of students who had to miss exams to participate in the event. We sincerely hope that discouraging acts like these are absent next time around, making lives of participants much easier and enabling them to put up an even better show.
According to Pawan Goenka, “Given the fact that something like this has been held first time in the country, we have learnt a lot about organising a national level event like this. This experience will definitely help us make the next edition of the Baja SAEIndia a better one.”
N Sriramulu, president ITW Chemin, said, “We are happy to be associated with an event like this since it helps recognise automotive engineering talent in the country and as a result our end consumers to get better products.” He was referring to the HR programme held prior to the event where around 50 students were hired by automotive majors like Mahindra & Mahindra, TVS Motors, DaimlerChrysler, NATRiP and AVTEC. “We hope to see this event go from strength to strength, not only for India but for the rest of South-East Asia as well.” |
