September 28, 2013 - 15 members of BBB Motorsports attended the 2013 Midnight Mayhem V, hosted by the University of Louisville. There were a record 60 cars registered for the event, and CWRU Baja attended with three of its own cars - #83, 2013's competition car, #78 (2012), and #48 (2010).
The event is a four hour endurance race, from 8:00pm to Midnight, along with dynamic events for determining starting positions. "Additional lights" added points to help starting positions, prompting our "Baja PD" paint theme for car #83, which included an operational red and blue LED light bar.
After passing technical inspection and brake check, all three cars participated in a suspension/drive train and maneuverability course to decide grid locations for that evening's race. All three cars represented themselves well, with #83 being in the 10th starting spot and the others close behind.
Car #48 suffered issues around the throttle cable, but drivers Dan Lane and Rob Daniels kept it in the race until a bad landing off of a jump separated two joints in the front suspension and bent the front shock, removing it from the race in 49th place.
Car #78, with driver CJ Valle, traversed the track for a total of over two hours with no hardships, but due to a change in drivers and track conditions was spun into a stationary tire and barricade, bending the steering rack to an unusable state and removing it from the race. At the end of two hours, the car stood in 16th place, but ended in 34th.
Although many on the team were disheartened at the final showing of the three solidly designed and well-built cars the events that transpired at Midnight Mayhem V are the type that plague any type of Motorsports, and only serve to prove that the only way to succeed in anything is to persevere through the adverse conditions.
This event also served as a learning experience for many of our new members, who made up 6 of the 15 total attendees. Many questions were raised upon the return to Case, both in terms of car design and the reasoning behind design choices, and will undoubtedly lead to a more optimized and tougher design for future cars.
- J. Rhodes 10/4/13
Five laps into the race, car #83 and its driver Alex "JEGS" Letwin was spun into a drainage pipe at full speed and subsequently struck broadside, causing substantial damage to the rear trailing arm and upright as well as separating one of the front A-arms from the frame of the vehicle, which removed it from the rest of the event in 56th place.
