Transformation for Baja competition underway at training site
Published 11.21.2023
Work has begun at Pennsylvania College of Technology's heavy construction equipment operations training site in readiness for the estimated 1,000 competitors expected for the international Baja SAE competition next spring.
The college will host about 100 teams – each with single-seat, all-terrain vehicles that they've designed and manufactured – that will converge there from May 16-19 for Baja SAE Williamsport.
The competition typically includes acceleration, hill climb, maneuverability, and suspension and traction events before concluding with its toughest test: a four-hour endurance race. Since 2011, the Penn College team has posted 14 top-10 finishes in that culminating contest, including wins in 2022 at Baja SAE Tennessee Tech and Baja SAE Rochester.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, students in instructor Seth J. Welshans' Haul Truck & Final Grade Equipment Operation class undertook some of those preliminary tasks. At the controls of an excavator, wheel loader and articulated dump truck, they "screened" rocks for use in the suspension and traction event and hauled the sifted soil for other prep work.
Black and yellow caution tape has been strung through the woods of the Brady Township site, delineating the rough outline of the endurance course. Work is set to begin there next month, when Andrew P. Keister, laboratory assistant for diesel equipment technology, begins removing small brush from the eventual course.
During the week of Dec. 11, Keister will be joined by two colleagues from the Schneebeli Earth Science Center – Nathan D. Avery, laboratory assistant for forest technology, and Wyatt C. Forest, laboratory assistant for horticulture – in clearing trees.
Those wishing to explore sponsorship or volunteer opportunities for Baja SAE Williamsport may visit Penn College’s Baja SAE website or contact College Relations by email or at 570-320-8020.
