Race to the finish

Updated on: Monday, February 07, 2011

Nurturing motorsports talent in the country and providing a ground for hundreds of engineering students to display their skills, the fourth edition of JK Tyre BAJA-SAE India contest was held end-January at Pithampur, Indore. The three-day competition saw the participation of over 1,700 engineering students from 79 colleges across India. The contest challenged the students to design and build an off-road, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) that could survive the rugged race tracks created at NATRAX facility of National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project ( NATRIP) at Pithampur.

"This event provides a platform to engineering students across India to shape their talent, polish their leadership abilities, work as a team and grind their engineering and designing skills, which will give them a fair idea of learning the nuances of the corporate world," said AS Mehta, marketing director, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd.

External factors such as the heat and dusty arena could not dampen the high spirits and enthusiasm of the participating students as they converted their assigned workspace to shop floors. Each team presented their vehicles in the various static events including design evaluation, cost evaluation, technical inspection and sales presentation. Following this, the teams raced their single-seat, four-wheelers in the dynamic tests such as maximum speed, acceleration, hill climbing, and maneuverability over the first two days of the event.
But all the hardwork and effort put in by the students was put to real test in the endurance run on the final day. All the participating vehicles raced around a specially-designed course for over two-and-a-half hours in a test of the vehicle's durability.

Going by their team name, 'Speeding Saddles' from GH Raisoni College of Engineering & Management (GHRCEM), Pune, won the endurance test, after completing 28 laps in the given time. Team driver Sagar Patane emerged as the new motorsports prodigy as he received the 'Best Driver' award. Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology from Punjab took home the overall champions trophy by scoring 801 points out of a total of 1000. While GHRCEM finished close second with 768 points.

"We had come to this event with a lot of enthusiasm and with several goals to achieve. Last year we had come here with certain targets but left disappointed. This time we have met the targets thanks to the dedication and hard work by the team," said Pratik Singh, a member of 'Speeding Saddles,' which won a total of four awards including the Hall of Fame for Excellence.

In an effort to promote the cause of greener technologies, the theme for this year's competition was 'Go Green.' SRM University, Kanchipuram, bagged the Green Vehicle Technology award while National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jamshedpur, received the Green Vehicle Award for emission control. Faculty members from SKN College of Engineering were honoured with the 'Dronacharya Award.'

Speaking about the importance of the event, Pawan Goenka, president, Mahindra and Mahindra Automotive Sector, one of the co-sponsors of the event, said, "Events like the BAJA 2011 prepares students for the auto industry. All those who have worked on these vehicles are certainly better equipped to join the automobile sector, especially contributing in designing and developing an automobile in comparison to the other students. This is a single
platform where students get the right exposure, experience and expertise to excel in the industry."

The event was followed by the HR meet which acts as a launch pad for budding technocrats. A total of eight companies participated in this year's recruitment meet and offered jobs to around 100 winning students.

Times of India

Race to the finish

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