ECU Motorsports

History of the Baja SAE competition

The Baja SAE competition started back in 1976 at the University of South Carolina. Dr. John F. Stephens began the competition as a way for his students to gain real world skills in the design and manufacturing side of engineering. The competition teaches students the importance of manufacturing, time constraints and cost constraints in a project. Over time, the competition grew and was eventually taken over by the Society of Automotive Engineers. For more information on the history of the Baja SAE competition, please visit the following website: Baja SAE History
History of the East Carolina Baja SAE Team

The 2006 season marked the first time East Carolina University competed in the Baja SAE competition. The ECU Motorsports team made its debut in the Baja SAE East competition in Auburn, AL, placing 51st overall out of 75 teams. The team modified the 2006 car and took it to competition at the RIT world Baja challenge in Rochester, NY in June of 2007. The team was very successful during the dynamic events, but failure on key components bumped them from 41st to 99th out of 141 teams. Take a look at the forum for more details on the day to day action at the RIT race.

Future of the ECU Baja SAE Team

For the 2008 season, the team has elected to build an entirely new car using the knowledge we have gained throughout the past two seasons. We will be keeping the 2007 car together in order to have a test bed for new parts as well as a show car for events within the community. There are some new faces in the shop this year which will help the program grow and survive once the founding members graduate. With the help of our sponsors and new members, the ECU Baja team plans on bringing home a trophy from one of the two competitions in 2008. The team will be traveling to Edwards, Illinois and Montreal, Canada during the summer of 2008.