'Baja SAE Korea’ ends amidst much fanfare
27 teams from 20 universities competed at the YU Gyeongsan Campus from the 14th to 16th
YU's 'YUSAE' Team takes Overall First Place
[July 16, 2016]
<2016 Baja SAE Korea Car Parade>
The Baja SAE Korea at Yeungnam University 2016 drew its curtains after an intense three days.
This contest, which celebrated its 21st anniversary, was joined by 27 teams from 20 universities including the Korea University of Technology and Education and Ajou University that competed fiercely at the YU Gyeongsan Campus.
This year, the YU ‘YUSAE' team took overall first place (photo on left) and received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award, a trophy, victor's flag, and a cash prize of 2 million won. 'YUSAE', which won first place in 2014, came in second last year, but retook the throne this year and proved that they are the top for self-built cars. Second place overall went to the 'Challenger' team of the Korea National University of Transportation, while third place went to the 'Ja. Yeon. In.' team of the Korea University of Technology and Education.
Nam Joon-hyeok (22, Mechanical Engineering, sophomore), the team leader of the 'Ja. Yeon. In.' of the Korea University of Technology and Education, said, "I have been participating in the contest every year for four years since 2013 when I was a freshman. Every year, all of the contestants improve a lot so I always get to learn a lot." He added, "Baja SAE Korea at Yeungnam University includes reviews on vehicle design and papers on the production process, so it has the advantageous that it can enhance both theoretical and practical capacities. One disappointment is that compared to the excellent infrastructure of the contest, it seems that the number of participants have dropped. I hope that more universities will participate next year to make it a festival for everyone."
Starting with registration of participants at 9 a.m. on the 14th, static tests were held to judge the uniqueness of the vehicle design, structural safety, driver convenience, ease of maintenance, and possibility for mass production, as well as the basic braking tests, and meetings on rules were also held until late in the evening. <Photo above>
The participating teams, volunteers and sponsors were in attendance at the main field at 10 a.m. on the 15th where the opening ceremony was held, and it was followed by a car parade of the participating teams at the main field and roads around the school. The dynamic test was held at the afternoon to check acceleration, max speed, towing force, rock climbing, and passing muddy roads. On the last day of the 16th, the highlight of the contest, which is the endurance test, was held on a 3.5km off-road track at the hill behind the YU water purification center. <photo below>
Professor Shin Dong-gil (School of Mechanical Engineering) who oversaw this contest said, "The students will have learned a lot by designing and producing their automobiles with their own hands" and added, "The theories they learned in class and the field experience the gained through this contest will be a valuable asset for students."
'Baja SAE Korea' is a contest in which college students compete with vehicles that they built and first began in 1996. In 2001, it was approved by the US Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for the first time in Korea and was promoted to an international competition and is being held every year at YU.
The results of the contest are displayed to the entire world through the SAE homepage (www.sae.org) and publications.
