The CWRU Motorsports Team competed in the 2020 Baja SAE virtual events that were organized in response to the unprecedented global pandemic situation.
Unlike the traditional competitions, this year's competition only included virtual static events, so no driving or presenting of a physical vehicle took place. As was the case with nearly all teams, the CWRU Motorsports Team was forced to abandon their manufacturing progress on their 2020 competition vehicle which remains unfinished.
The "Dream Team" consisting of junior member Wyatt Slifcak and sophomore member Leland Frantz joined forces yet again and put their creative minds to work to develop a sales plan and and present in the virtual Sales Event. The energy and enthusiasm that they brought to the table along with their insightful sales plan thoroughly impressed the judges. Their polished performance earned the CWRU Motorsports Team its first-ever Sales Event award, placing in 3rd place out of the teams registered for the Baja SAE Louisville competition and within the top-10 sales rankings for the Arizona and Illinois competitions.
Current design leads Tom Filipovic, Owen Yang, and Wyatt Slifcak teamed up with rising design leads Tobin Gevelber, Leland Frantz, and Mike Buccieri in the virtual Design Event. The unusual circumstances of the past few months that prevented the team from completing and testing their 2020 competition vehicle made preparing a design presentation particularly challenging. Nevertheless, these hard working members persevered and put together a detailed and visually-appealing presentation that highlighted the immense amount of work that was poured into developing the vehicle over the past 10 months. The judges provided much-appreciated positive and useful feedback on the team's presentation. The team's efforts in this event proved to be successful, as they were placed within the top-10 design rankings for all 3 competitions. Additionally, Tobin, Leland, and Mike gained invaluable experience from presenting in the design event for the first time.
Results Breakdown
Baja SAE Arizona
9th Place Overall
6th Place in Sales
14th Place in Cost
9th Place in Design (tie)
Baja SAE Louisville
7th Place Overall
3rd Place in Sales
10th Place in Cost
5th Place in Design (tie)
Baja SAE Illinois
8th Place Overall
8th Place in Sales
15th Place in Cost
8th Place in Design (tie)
Although these are positive results, the team remains disappointed that they were unable to have the opportunity to prove themselves further in the dynamic events that everyone had been looking forward to as the 2020 competition vehicle neared its completion. The team has unfinished business to take care of and will return more determined than ever next season.
The CWRU Motorsports team offers their gratitude to the organizers at SAE International and all of the volunteers that worked tirelessly over the past few months to make the best of this situation and keep the spirit of the 2020 Baja SAE season alive.