Nearly 100 student teams from around the globe got a little mud on their tires at Baja SAE Auburn as students took on steep inclines, maneuverability courses through rough woody terrain, and a four-hour long race on a course littered with hairpin curves, severe drop-offs, sand traps, jagged rocks and murky trenches.

The College of Engineering hosted the event for the fourth time at the National Center for Asphalt Technology’s test track in Opelika – which the Society of Automotive Engineers considers the most rugged of all its collegiate design competitions – and saw more than 1,300 students from universities as far away as Egypt, India and Mexico.

Auburn’s Baja team earned a sixth-place finish overall, with combined scores from static events including a business presentation and design evaluation, as well as dynamic events in acceleration, hill climb, maneuverability, suspension and the endurance race hosted by Honda.

Baja SAE Auburn was the first of three North American Baja SAE competitions held during the 2015 racing season. Auburn’s team also competed in Maryland from May 7-10 and Oregon from May 27-30.