Somehow, the off-road racer built by Iowa State student-engineers held together through the end of the four-hour endurance race, earning the Baja Team its second checkered flag of the season and its best-ever overall finish. Sometime in the last quarter of the race, the rough, muddy racing sheared tubes used to repair damage from the team’s first endurance win in Texas.
“The only things holding the car together were the rear suspension, one bolt and the fuel line,” said Andrew Tauke, the team’s technical director. But driver Erik Rasmussen was able to drive hard to the finish. And that win helped secure a third-place overall finish among the 95 teams registered for the competition in Kansas.
Next up are some heavy repairs in advance of the June 4-7 competition in Illinois. “I’m very happy with our finish,” Tauke said, “and I’m really looking forward to Peoria. We’re going for the sweep.”
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