Rit Baja Sae

Baja SAE is a collegiate design series sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). RIT Baja is just one of over one hundred regularly competing teams in the North American region alone. We have a long-standing record of excellence in the competition and are very proud of our achievements, being a top ten team for the last ten years. Our most recent racing season (2023-2024) continued our record of excellence, placing 3rd overall. We build a new off-road vehicle every year that can survive and overcome a multitude of different terrains and obstacles. During the competition we are judged on the design and performance of our vehicle through numerous events ranging from static events like cost and design, to the dynamic events like acceleration, hill climb, and maneuverability. The competition culminates in a 4 hour endurance race testing the vehicles ability to sustain repeated and intense transient loadings. Our team is built on the ideals of fostering engineering development for any student interested in furthering their personal growth. We pride ourselves on creating the open environment allowing students to push their creativity and do so in a collaborative manor, spanning many disciplines. Students of any major, year, or background are encouraged to be a part of our team. This gives us the benefit of diverse mindsets and a truly tight knit group. We succeed by exposing all members to the engineering design process and helping them to think in a way that promotes an organized and creative approach to multi-faceted problems. Students work side-by-side with hands on projects as they design, manufacture, and test their ideas. Emphasis is placed on the effects that ripple out from their efforts, showing our members that their work matters. RIT Baja is a family founded on determination and strong core values but couldn’t get anywhere without the support from our sponsors, who provide the resources to take our competition to otherwise unreachable heights.