The University of Maryland TerpsRacing Baja team, which consists of many Clark School students, has placed third overall against an international field of 100 teams at the Baja SAE Alabama 2009 competition at Auburn University, April 16-19.

Baja SAE consists of three regional competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design, build and race an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and sometimes even water.

The complete TerpsRacing results are:

3rd Overall
4th in Endurance
1st in Acceleration
2nd in Suspension
4th in Maneuverability
5th in Design

"This has been a remarkable journey for our Baja team from near-obscurity to nearly the very best," said Avi Bar-Cohen, chair of mechanical engineering. "We are all very proud of this achievement."

The TerpsRacing Baja team now sets its sights on the next competition in Wisconsin.

TerpsRacing also races a Formula team, which won the SAE West competition last year in California.