The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) at UWM earned first place in UWM Stout’s Backwoods Baja Endurance Race.
“Baja” commonly refers to off-road racing events, originating in the Baja region of California.
These race events can involve a variety of vehicle types racing over rugged terrain, varied landscapes and varying distances.
Ace Dunscombe, the President of the SAE at UWM, spoke about their history of participating in these events and his experience.
“Our club has been around since the 1970’s. We have been going to Backwoods Baja, (an unsanctioned race organized by UW Stout) since at least the early 2000’s and used to consistently place in the top three, but we haven’t placed first in a very long time,” Dunscombe said.
“…This was my fourth Backwoods race and the only other time we got close to placing first was a second place podium in 2023. It was really something to get to actually see and drive our newest chassis, 47, as I have been working on the design for it since I joined the club. Unfortunately, we didn’t take first with the new chassis, but rather with our older and more proven car, chassis 46. This was partially expected as this was our first real prove out for the new car and as things do in baja, parts broke and we didn’t have what we needed to fix it properly. But we learned a lot about what we need to change to make the car more competitive next year”
– Dunscombe, SAE President
Dunscombe continued with how this year’s race was important and spoke on the opportunities the race offers club members.
“Backwoods is an important race for us as it is one of the only ones we consistently can attend, and it offers a great opportunity to introduce new members to the goal of the club and get them to mingle with other teams,” Dunscombe said.
He spoke on how each vehicle is a cumulative effort for the club.
“This race and new car were both a joint effort of a massive list of people that came before me, and without the knowledge our current team gained from them, we wouldn’t have been able to make this victory happen,” Dunscombe said.
Luke Zimmermann, a UWM Senior in Information Science, detailed his experience in the club and as the second driver of 47, who swapped out with Ace.
“This was my last year in SAE Baja, and potentially my last race. I have had the privilege of driving three separate cars in my time here and was very excited to drive car 47. I’ve been contributing, where able, the entire time I’ve been in the club, towards the design of the car. It was super rewarding to see it come together and materialize finally. The car was pretty untested before the race… we put on the shocks on Thursday and raced on Saturday. The race at backwoods provided a great opportunity to test the car under really rough conditions.”
– Zimmermann, UWM Senior
Speaking on his role in the race, Zimmerman talked about the course’s hazards and solutions experienced.
“I swapped in after Ace around halftime of the race. I had two laps for my first stint. It was a challenging time. I managed to flip the car on its side and barely avoided flooding the motor with gas. After the car was back on four wheels, I began driving again. The next lap I was in the minefield (section out towards the back of the course, peer walked track, stumps and dead trees) and drove over a log. Somehow, the entire rear left corner of the car failed. The shock became a C, and the trailing arm separated from the chassis. It was a lengthy recovery process, but the car was repaired in the pits rapidly because we had spare parts and an awesome pit crew!”
– Zimmermann, UWM Senior
“I was able to take the car out again for a second stint. This one was about eight laps. I was able to make 4 or 5 overtakes; the car was running very quickly and was easily able to clean air on some of the ramps. It was amazing to drive. On the backside of the track, the right front knuckle failed on me, causing a spin-out and another recovery to be necessary,” Zimmermann said.
He concludes by mentioning his positive insight gained through racing, contributing to ideas of possible modification for the next race.
“Overall, not the result we were expecting with car 47, but we gained a lot of valuable insights into how to design it better. I still had an awesome time driving, and it was a great end to my time as a driver,” Zimmermann said.
While the drivers for 47 were getting a feel for SAE at UWM’s new design, drivers for 46 (Liz, Hosanna, and Dominic) detailed their experiences during the race, which brought home the first-place victory.
Hosanna Tekle, a UWM sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering with a Minor in Computer Science (part of the club’s controls sub team), had a fun time as 46’s second driver at her first Baja race.
“This is my first year both in Baja and going to Backwoods. Overall, the race was quite fun I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect at first and I was a little nervous to drive after we walked the track,” Tekle said.
Teckle explained how the qualifying event before the race helped.
“I had never raced for Baja. I have track racing experience before Backwoods, but never with off-road vehicles. I did the qualifier event, which was a car carry into 2 laps around part of the track. That part allowed me to become more comfortable with the track and made the event a bit more fun. After the qualifier event, I switched spots with Liz as she raced for the first hour; the order of drivers for 46 was Liz, me, and lastly Dominic. I felt as if the race for the majority of 46 went smoothly. My main concern while driving was messing up the suspension severely because of the conditions of the track, which had many obstacles.”
– Teckle, UWM Sophomore
Tekle spoke about how proud she was of everyone in the club, the race and the educational insight she gained.
“46 at the end of the 4-hour endurance race ended up taking 1st place. I was extremely proud of everyone in the club. Not only was it a fun experience, but it was also quite educational. After driving 46, I gained more insight on how the Baja cars operate and what things can be applied to future Baja projects,” Teckle said.
Before her swap out with Dominic for the final stint of the race, she stated some lug nuts fell off on her way returning to the pit during the race’s intermission, which the pit crew was able to fix, costing them little time.
Dominic Parker, a UWM Freshman in Mechanical Engineering, was the final driver for 46.
Parker ended up driving for two hours after intermission, only stopping for one refuel, which took about two minutes.
The Freshman completed around 20-25 laps, started in seventh after intermission, and moved to first.
Parker spoke on how the difficulties he faced: his shins hitting the streeting tube (brace) and his elbow bumping the electronic kill switch, which he needed to restart by pulling the switch back out on each occurrence.
Being Parker’s first official race (as well as having no prior Baja experience), he mentioned the coolest part for him was towards the end of the race when the infield had 90% of the club cheering him on.
Parker addressed his reasoning to pass the obstacles in the “mine field” (section out towards the back of the course; peer walked, track stumps and dead trees), stating that if you didn’t carry speed, it was impossible to get through.
Along with how Parker focused on hitting a ramp at full speed, “…just gotta let her eat…” he explained how doing so kept it from flipping.
Parker noted how he found a good path through “…hit it, cooked…” and how his experience from driving a low car helped identify proper approaches to the course’s terrain.
The excitement from the race is matched within the entire club and in the pit during the race.
Keaton George, the Drivetrain Lead for the SAE at UWM Chapter, majoring in Mechanical Engineering (senior), explained his role in the pit crew and his experiences during the race.
“My main role during the race was leading the pit crew, assisting with any repairs or refuels that the cars needed. Any day that you don’t have to fix anything in the pit is a good day, but those days are very rare,” George said.
“We had a few issues with the cars that required them to be towed back to the pit. One of those major failures happened on car 47, just before intermission, which gave us enough time to fix it. The rear-right suspension assembly completely detached from the car, destroying the rear-right CV axle. Luckily, we were able to replace the axle within the 20-minute window of intermission. That wasn’t the last issue we had, but we fixed them as fast and as best we could.”
– George, UWM Senior
George spoke on how the expectations with 47’s newer design led them to think it would have been more successful than 46 in this race, but observed how the repairs needed affected their outcome.
“While we hoped 47 would be the car to take 1st, our work in the pit kept the cars in the race until the very end, with car 46 taking 1st. Overall, I’m proud of the pit crew. They remained composed and focused on their tasks as they came up. Taking 1st was the cherry on top for us,” George said.
The knowledge gained from each race is unique to each vehicle, creating an energetic future for 47 with everything learned from this race.
The excitement from 46’s first-place victory is felt through the club.
Erik Sprunk, UWM Senior and Mechanical Engineering Major (Treasurer of SAE at UWM), spoke regarding the event and the future of the club.
“What an incredible weekend! Proud to see our hard work pay off in Northern Wisconsin as I wrap up my last Baja Backwoods race and begin passing the torch to the next generation of SAE Baja Members,” Sprunk said.
Sprunk spoke on how 46’s success taking first out of 30 cars was a “testament to the dedication and teamwork our team has poured into it over the years.”
“While not everything went as planned, the experience was an incredible learning opportunity and a humbling reminder that engineering growth comes as much from setbacks as it does from success,” Sprunk said when addressing the future of 47.
The machine took 13th place in the race due to the mechanical challenges and on-the-fly repairs.
The dedication and teamwork of the SAE at UWM “Baja” club toward the future is impressive. They have already begun working on the noted improvements needed for 47.
William Carroll, the technical director of SAE at UWM, and Isabelle Nobrega, juniors in Mechanical Engineering and frame sub-team members with welding specialties, along with other members already had 47 taken apart for welding.
When taking a break from working on 47, Carroll explained to me their process.
“For each car, we start with the ideation phase, where the whole team gets together and comes up with our design direction for each new car. From there, we split up the design process between 4 sub-teams and spent 6 months to a year designing the car. We then move into the verification and design check stage. Last, we go into manufacturing for each sub-team, where we utilize our extensive shop equipment to teach students practical skills.”
– William Carroll, UWM Junior
Carroll continued addressing the benefits this approach provides club members.
“The goal of the entire process is to closely mimic the real-world design process students will end up experiencing in industry later in their academic career. This is what gives our Baja members a competitive advantage in the workplace, even outside of racing,” Carroll said.
Norbrega spoke about her experience with the team and its applications to her career. She pointed out her contributions to welding 47’s tubes and brackets to its frame.
Norbega’s experience comes from working at a small company in West Chicago for the past two years during summers.
The materials she commonly welds are steel and stainless steel, noting some attempts with aluminum (usually small pieces, used for building items like rolling tables…).
Norbrega mentioned how habits from work had to change due to the tool chests being different.
“Not a difficult change, minor rules and differences,” she mentioned how different materials and uses required different precision and techniques.
When asked about her experiences as a new member of the club, Norbrega mentioned how, with having little knowledge about cars, the club provides a great community and opportunity with focused interests, and glad she’s involved early in her academic career at UWM.
The future of SAE at UWM’s Baja club looks promising with a new class of members and the Baja 47.
The excitement and benefits from 46’s first-place victory appear to be a driving force for the club and its future races.