War Eagle Motor Sports

It was a great year for Auburn University's War Eagle Motorsports racing teams. The Flying Tigers Aero Design, Formula SAE, and SAE Mini Baja and Lady Tigers Mini Baja teams turned in solid performances at the 2004 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) competitions. These events challenge teams of university students from around the world to design, build and race a specialty vehicle for competition against a field of international competitors.

The banner year for Auburn's SAE teams began in early April when the Flying Tigers placed first overall out of 35 teams with its radio-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle in SAE's Aero Design Competition held in Orlando. Auburn's "War Eagle Lifter" also earned the award for overall excellence, the traveling trophy and an award bestowed by fellow competitors on the team exhibiting the highest degree of professionalism.

In May, Auburn's Formula SAE team turned heads at the annual competition — the largest collegiate design competition in the world — held in Detroit. Building on last year's precedent-setting fifth place finish, the 2004 team rolled out a re-designed Formula-style racecar, which led the team to third place overall out of a field of 140 teams. This sterling accomplishment helped to establish Auburn as one of the top teams in the world.

Auburn University's Mini Baja (AUMB) and Lady Tigers Mini Baja (ALTMB) teams had their work cut out for them this year, competing in two of the three regional SAE Mini Baja competitions — with events challenging teams to design, build and race a Mini Baja all-terrain off-road vehicle.

At the East competition held in Montreal, AUMB's new car benefited from the most extensive program of power train and vehicle dynamics testing ever for an Auburn Mini Baja car, placing sixth overall out of a field of 62 teams. Meanwhile, the Auburn Lady Tigers Mini Baja — a team consisting of a small group of women who have been going head-to-head with the men's teams since 1998 — competed strongly for its fifth straight year in the same race, finishing in the middle of the pack after suffering a mechanical problem.

At the Midwest competition held in Milwaukee in June, AUMB kicked it up a notch placing fourth in the design competition and first in the endurance race for an overall third place out of 136 teams. Not to be outdone, the ALTMB teams also made way during the competition, placing fifth in the heat competitions and eighth in the hill climb event.

On the web:

• War Eagle Motorsports web site
• Videos of engineering organizations