BRUIN RACING BAJA

What is Bruin Racing Baja?

Bruin Racing Baja competes in the Baja SAE competition, hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Every year, student engineers design and build an offroad vehicle to compete in harsh environments ranging from desert to swamp. Their car emphasizes reliability, featuring a custom electromechanically-actuated continuously variable transmission (ECVT) system and four-wheel drive.

Bruin Racing Baja's 2022-2023 team

Past Vehicles

PAST VEHICLES

Gold Car (Model 22)

Gold Car was our first model to cross the finish line of the 4-hour endurance race running our custom ECVT. It placed 7th in Design, 10th in Acceleration, and 11th in Suspension.

▹Tech Director: Emma Gloyer
▹Managing Director: Conor Sefkow

Icy Hot (Model 21)

Model 21, or Icy Hot, represented a huge step forward for Bruin Racing Baja, as the first all-wheel drive vehicle in UCLA Baja’s history, and as our club’s first vehicle after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also featured a cutting brake, which gave our car impressive maneuverability.

Technical director: Ben Sharp
Managing director: Alex Hedrick

Sunset Car (Model 20)

Aptly named Sunset car, Model 20 participated in the virtual Baja competition, due to COVID-19 disruptions. Sunset continued to build on the promising development of the ECVT, making it ready for Model 21.

Technical director: Gwendolyn Hashimoto
Managing director: Cheryl Lee

Blue Car (Model 19)

Model 19 featured Bruin Racing’s ECVT transmission debut, and it was the third ever ECVT created for the Baja SAE competition. This highly efficient transmission coupled with light and reliable spool axel was able to deliver maximum power to the ground. Blue Car has also been our most reliable, and was still being run in 2023 before being retired.

▹Technical Director: Christian Hurley

Purple Car (Model 18)

Model 18 scored an 11th place finish in the maneuverability event at Baja SAE Kansas 2018. The vehicle featured a lockable differential that maximized traction and maneuverability as the competition demanded, while floating brake rotors improved braking reliability.

▹Technical Director: Ellen Kim

Orange Car (Model 17)

Model 17 was an exceptionally light vehicle, leading to a 15th place finish in Baja SAE California’s acceleration event.

▹Technical Director: Iyal Suresh

▹Financial Director: Aditya Maniyar

Gray Car (Model 16)

Model 16 achieved an 11th place overall finish in Baja SAE California in 2016 and 15th in Baja SAE Tennessee Tech. The reliable suspension and drivetrain enabled Model 16 to complete the California Endurance Race in 8th place without any mechanical failures. A rare feat in the competition.

▹Technical Director: Seth Baker

▹Team Principal: Nirav Mehta

▹Financial Director: Aditya Maniyar

Green Car (Model 15)

Model 15 placed 17th overall in Baja SAE Auburn in 2015. A well-designed steering system with a light steering rack allowed the driver to quickly negotiate corners, leading to 4th place finish in the maneuverability event.

▹Technical Director: Wudhidham Prachumsri

Pink Car (Model 14)

Model 14 placed 5th overall in Baja SAE Kansas 2014. The small chassis, high reduction and cutting brake, gave the car exceptional maneuverability. Model 14 took first place in the Hill Climb event and first place in overall Dynamic Events Score.

Dirctors/Team Leads

TEAM LEADERSHIP

DIRECTORS

Beni Korol

Akilan Arunachalam - Technical Director.jpg

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS

The Technical Directors evaluate the designs and plans of each subteam, setting top-level goals and integration choices in the context of total vehicle performance.

▹beni.korol@bruinracing.org

▹akilan.arunachalam@bruinracing.org

Akilan Arunachalam

Raeshon Lim

MANAGING DIRECTORS

The Managing Directors coordinate the whole Baja team, including finding sponsorships, facilitating collaboration between subteams, and keeping the team on track to meet deadlines.

▹raeshon.lim@bruinracing.org

▹kyaw.si.thu@bruinracing.org

Kyaw Si Thu

SUBTEAM LEADS

POWERTRAIN

The powertrain subteam designs, manufactures, and tests the gearbox and the half-shaft assemblies.

Neseem Taleghani

Keshav Narasimma

▹ neseem.taleghani@bruinracing.org

▹ keshav.narasimma@bruinracing.org

SUSPENSION

The Suspension subteam engineers the car's interaction with the road, optimizing our suspension geometry through the lens of vehicle dynamics.

Chenwei Liu

▹chenwei.liu@bruinracing.org

Paige Larson

ELECTRONICS

Electronic's purpose is to design and implement sensors and other electronics both on and off the Baja car for the purpose of collecting data to be used in designing future cars, as well as tuning the current car.

▹paige.larson@bruinracing.org

CHASSIS

The chassis subteam designs, assembles, and tests the tubular chassis as well as designing and fabricating body panels and decals for the car.

Angelique Jayadinata

Grace Pellegrino

▹ angelique.jayadinata@bruinracing.org

▹grace.pellegrino@bruinracing.org

Eleanor Moss

ECVT

The ECVT team is developing a custom actuated CVT dictated by a controls scheme to autonomously shift and change its gear ratio in order to maintain our engine at its optimal, highest power-output speed.

▹eleanor.moss@bruinracing.org