After two years without official Baja SAE competition, CWRU Motorsports finally got a chance to race the brand new SR21 against other teams at the Drop Forge Proving Grounds in Louisville, Kentucky. Due to the pandemic, the static events were moved online, so this competition in Louisville only consisted of the dynamic events and the endurance race.
In the dynamic events, the team performed incredibly well, finishing 6th overall, the second highest dynamic finish in team history. This result was due in large part to 1st place finishes in the maneuverability and hill climb events. CWRU Motorsports hadn’t won either of these events previously. These victories also meant that Baja Louisville marked the first time the team had won two events at the same competition. The team was also proud to finish 6th in acceleration, especially given that the SR21 had the third-fastest acceleration time of vehicles with four-wheel-drive capability.
Sadly, the endurance event didn’t go nearly as well for the team. Unlike some of the team’s previous poor endurance performances, the low score this time didn’t come from failures of vehicle components. Rather, a simple design flaw reared its head in this event: the car simply couldn’t go off steep drops without flipping over. The car was mostly functional by the end of endurance, but it was forced off the course after being black flagged for excessive rollovers. The SR21 still was able to complete fourteen laps, and the car seemed quite durable other than the rollover issue.
Despite this disappointing end to the competition, the team was happy with the SR21’s performance in Louisville. While the car had some clear issues, it showed consistently quick pace throughout a variety of events. These results, coupled with the team’s best-ever second place finish in the static portion of the competition means that CWRU Motorsports feels confident in our ability to fight for overall competition wins next season.
Stay tuned for an official unveiling of the SR21 and updates on development of next year’s car.
The team would like to thank all of our sponsors for their support, particularly the Case Alumni Association, who stepped up with an additional donation to ensure the team was able to travel to Louisville. CWRU Motorsports would also like to acknowledge our two graduating seniors, Wyatt Slifcak and Tobin Gevelber, for their hours of hard work and dedication that enabled our success this season.
Watch on-board footage of events from this competition
Key Results:
Hill Climb: 1st Place
Maneuverability: 1st Place
Acceleration: 6th Place (3rd for 4WD cars)
Dynamic Cumulative: 6th Place
Overall: 28th
View full results of this competition