Ian Storrs ’24 joined ‘Cuse Baja as a wide-eyed first-year student eager to build off-road vehicles for rough terrains. But to his surprise, the club once known for participating in rugged vehicle competitions had seemingly lost its drive. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with former members graduating, left the student organization without guidance. The club’s off-road vehicle was also just a frame, and the remaining members didn’t know how to complete it. Storrs knew he had do to something with the club’s numbers dwindling.
The student-run ‘Cuse Baja organization participates in rugged, off-road vehicle competitions.
Assuming the position as the club’s leader, Storrs worked hard to rebuild ‘Cuse Baja from the ground up, focusing on recruiting and training the next generation of engineers to take the wheel. Today, ‘Cuse Baja is a thriving student organization that actively competes across the country and the off-road vehicle that was nothing more than a simple frame is now breaking records.
“The development of our current car has been a long road. With a large amount of reverse-engineering and scrappiness, we managed to cobble together a functional car,” says Storrs.
Despite challenges in their early competitions, ‘Cuse Baja didn’t let any roadblocks slow them down. In September 2024, the club would set new records at the Baja Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) competition held in Michigan. After undergoing rigorous inspections, the team competed at different events that tested their vehicle’s acceleration, maneuverability, suspension and traction as well as rock-crawling ability.
The final event on the last day of the competition was the endurance race, where each team that passed inspections strives to complete as many laps as possible in 4 hours. ‘Cuse Baja completed 15 laps, far exceeding the six laps they completed in a previous competition, making history with the best result from a University Baja team in more than 20 years.
“We had gone from having never been to a competition to being legitimately competitive in only one year,” says Storrs. “Prior to us, a Baja team from SU had not raced at a competition in 20 years, so we are enormously proud of our accomplishments.”
“This year was filled with many great successes allowing our team to meet multiple goals,” says aerospace engineering student Laney Price ‘27. “However, when I look back at Michigan, I will not remember our scoring. I’ll remember the excitement our team felt and expressed during that week when we worked through many obstacles to reach that success.”
Through ‘Cuse Baja, Storrs has connected with other students who share his passion for designing and building off-road vehicles and gained hands-on experience in engineering through machining and welding. As president and chief engineer, he has also developed valuable leadership skills that have strengthened his team-building and project-management abilities.
“Throughout my leadership, I have made it my number one priority to recruit and train the next generation of ‘Cuse Baja members who will be able to grow the team after I have graduated,” says Storrs. “Our current success is due to the large influx of passionate and interested members over the past year, who have shown great initiative in learning and leading the team.”
“I became a member at the beginning of the 2023 school season and have witnessed ‘Cuse Baja grow so much since I’ve been on the team,” says mechanical engineering student Riehen Walsh ‘27. “With a new generation car being designed and an ever-growing connection with the local Syracuse community, I look forward to seeing what the team can become in the upcoming years.”
Even as Storrs prepares to graduate, he believes the club will continue to thrive. “Baja and the other engineering teams are an invaluable addition to the ECS community, and are, in my opinion, undervalued. We provide practical and hands-on experience to students, which is something that cannot be taught in class. I hope that through our continued success and growth, we can further prove our value to the engineering community.”
A student works on an off-road vehicle as part of the ‘Cuse Baja club.
