This May, students from universities across the nation competed for the top slot at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja Competition. Teams of students designed, built, and raced single-seat, off-road vehicles that can operate in dirt, mud, and on rocky, rough terrain, within a strict set of design rules. 

Fairfield’s Baja team is led by students and prepares them to be career-ready after they graduate. The competition also helps students build important connections with peers and engineering companies. Representing Fairfield University at Baja SAE were Isabella Fuierer ’26, Lili Meddahi ’25, Maximilian Lindeis ’26, Bhupender Pruthi ’26, James Doyle ’27, Hunter Wackrow ’27, Timothy O’Keefe ’26, Jack Fetzer ’25, Alec Gonzalo ’25, Stephen Borrelli ’25, Michael Delmonaco ’26, Adam Chang ’25, and Claudia Hepfer ’26. 

Members of the Baja team were divided into groups with each group focusing on a certain aspect of the car such as steering, suspension, brakes, chassis, and drivetrain. Each group researched and identified the appropriate parts while following SAE guidelines. The team completed the fabrication work in-house at the Innovation Annex.

This annual competition draws thousands of spectators each year to watch the competition featuring student teams from the United States and Canada to push their Baja vehicles to limits. “The place has a palpable energy and a contagious excitement as anticipation grows through passing technical inspection, then into the first dynamic events, and finally the endurance race day,” said Lindeis who is the captain of the Baja team.

For Doyle, this was his first year at the competition. At the competition, Doyle tuned the suspension, scouted other teams, presented his subsystem design presentation, walked with the car, and worked on track as a volunteer. “Sunday was my favorite day. It was the endurance race day,” said Doyle. “Of the course of the four-hour race, I helped push cars out when they got stuck or restarted them after an engine shutdown. This was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had as I was right on the trackside and had one of the best views.”

As a computer science student, the Baja competition provided Meddahi experience outside her major giving her the knowledge and skills in mechanics and fabrication. Using her computer science skills, she assisted Fetzer on the Baja vehicle sensors, which ended up being a crucial part of our endurance race plans. 

This year’s competition and planning proved successful with the team placing 17^th out of 89 teams in the four-hour endurance race. The endurance part of the competition features the climbing up a steep hill. “That incredibly steep hill was right next to a spectator area, so we all stood together bristling with anticipation. We saw the vehicle we worked so hard on all year come flying around the corner, throwing mud, push forward to the hill, and easily surmount an obstacle that would have been impossible for us to climb just a year earlier,” explained Lindeis.

The team passed the engine check with flying colors, dialed in their suspension alignment, and aced the 4WD check. After a few minor tweaks following their first tech inspection evaluation, they were ready for the dynamic events. Overall, the team placed 43 out 107 at this year’s competition.

Reflecting on the competition and the yearlong planning, Meddahi said, “The highlight of the competition was seeing how much everyone’s hard work paid off over the year. We all have put in a ton of hours; I know firsthand how many late nights the drivetrain subsystem put in and it was well worth the effort in the end. We are all incredibly proud of what we did last week and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to do it with.”

Lindeis expanded on this sentiment, “We were absolutely thrilled and cheered knowing that the long nights in the shop more than paid off. Seeing proof of our growth so dramatically left a lasting impression with me and I think nicely ties together the team's experience overall.”