Competition History

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Competition History

M
ost engineers over the age of say, forty, cannot recall anything like Formula
SAE while they were in school. Early engineering design competitions were more
or less simple on-campus events such as egg drops, for which the intent was to
design the most damage-resistant box. Challenging? Sure. Interesting? Maybe, but
not exactly enticing to a motorhead.
In the mid 1970s, several universities began hosting local student design
competitions with off-road vehicles. At one of them, Fred Stratton, from the
Briggs & Stratton Corporation (B&S), was a design judge. It was through him and
his colleagues that the SAE/B&S connection was established. Bob Catterson, now
retired from that firm, recalls that many B&S engineers were active within the SAE
Milwaukee Section, particularly with student activities. With support from both the
Milwaukee Section and B&S the first SAE Mini Baja
�
arose. Its success convinced
SAE International to support this event at other locations throughout North America.
The SAE Mini Baja took its name from the famous Baja 1000 off-road race in Mexico.
The first SAE Mini Baja competitions took place in 1976 and quickly became three
annual regional competitions. These events established a standard format: a day
of static eventsdesign, cost, and presentationfollowed by a day of individual
performance events, and capped by an endurance event on the third and final
day. The emphasis at Mini Baja is on chassis design, as each of the teams uses
an identical 8-hp B&S engine that cannot be modified. At every competition,
engineers from Briggs & Stratton have participated to ensure conformance
to the rules.
Over the past twenty years, the SAE Mini Baja has been successful beyond
anyones expectations. Credit for the success can be shared by many
people, but special thanks must be given to Briggs & Strattonto date it has
donated well over 1000 engines to the cause, plus countless hours of technical
support at all of the events.
1981 2004
Competition History
Conceived initially as a road-racing counterpart to the established SAE Mini Baja
�
,
the Formula SAE
�
event has grown by a factor of about 20 in terms of both cars
and participants.
39

40
SAE Mini-Indy
In 1978, Kurt Marshek, then at the University of Houston (Texas), contacted the SAE Educational Relations Department to discuss a variant of Mini Baja. How about a similar competition for on-road racing vehicles? Both SAE and Briggs & Stratton were receptive to the idea, and planning for the 1979 SAE Mini-Indy began. Marshek recalls that one of the potential sites investigated was the Texas World Speedway. Ultimately the competition was held on the campus of the University of Houston. With the speed potential an unknown, the decision was made to use 5-hp B&S engines for all competitors. Thirteen schools entered, and eleven competed that first yearwith the over-all winner from the Univer

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