02/19/2020
Our LSSU SAE Mini Baja Team saw success at Michigan Tech's Blizzard Baja this past weekend, finishing 5th out of 36 competing karts! Completing repairs to our gearbox, welding a patch into a hole in our skid plate thanks to Bunker Manufacturing, and general maintenance took up most of our time in the shop before this race. Because of this we ended up going to the race in an untested condition. After replacing a bad pressure sensor in the morning that controlled our brake light we made it through tech inspection without too much trouble. The kart quickly gained positions with Alex Metzger starting the race, passing karts that had trouble making it through the deep snow and icy terrain. We saw continued success through the race, worrying only briefly about a new squeak coming from the engine bay that proved to be nothing immediately important. A loss of full came about an hour into the race, resulting from the throttle cable adjustment screw coming loose, this was quickly remedied and the kart was back at full strength. The rough terrain and numerous other karts being pulled back to the pits with demolished suspension components prompted us to quickly verify the state of our own A-Arms and Tie Rods at each driver change, all remained rock solid with no need for adjustments or repairs. Through our 5 drivers, Alex Metzger, Evan Wujick, Joe Taylor, Veronica Shull, and Breanna Kemppainen we continued to see success. Only dropping out of the top 5 just after driver changes and quickly reclaiming the 4th or 5th spot shortly after. When the track became too icy on the long uphill section for most karts to make it through, the race was called to a close. Unfortunately, this early closure hampered our kart because we were still able to make laps with minor difficulties when not caught up in traffic in the difficult sections. Overall, this race solidified our best year competitively to date and has our Team eager for what the future has to offer. A HUGE thank you to the LSSU Physical Plant for helping us out in our time of need, we couldn't have done it with out you! A thank you to our sponsors from Alben Outdoor and the I-500. Lake Superior State University MTU Blizzard Baja LSSU Engineering & Technology