The achievements of the Auburn Lady Tigers Mini-Baja team led by Captain and former Morgan Academy student Brittany Conseugra are numerous.

But to her stepfather Ray Hogg, of Hogg Engineering Corps, one important achievement of the nation’s only all-female Mini-Baja team stands out.

They routinely and roundly beat several of the all boys teams they beat, he’ll say with pride.

Brittany downplays the male-female competitions, but one thing is clear, she is breaking ground in the classroom as well as the mini-Baja course as she pursues a career in engineering.

“(Engineering) is very much a man dominated field,” she said. “In engineering, it’s not very uncommon to be in a class of 70 people and be the only girl in the room.”

Brittany, who is on course to graduate in December, fell in love with Mini-Baja after learning about the team at a Society of Women Engineers meeting.

“The ladies team gave a presentation,” she said. “It was just for me.

I wanted to learn how to weld and drive through the mud. I was hooked.”

What is Mini-Baja?

Teams from 200 universities from all over North America and overseas compete in three annual Mini-Baja competitions.

The Auburn squads competed in two of these.

Essentially, the teams fabricate a dune buggy-type vehicle which they then compete against the other schools.

The teams are given a Briggs and Stratton 10-horsepower engine and are responsible for designing, fabricating and putting together the rest of the vehicle.

The teams then compete in three-day events that test maneuverability, speed, ability to climb over obstacles, towing capacity and flotation and propulsion in deep water; and finally, a four-hour wheel-to-wheel endurance race.

Judges also ask the engineers about various choices they made in fabricating the vehicle.

“They ask you what made you decide to design it that way, to justify what we built,” Brittany said.

Overcoming Obstacles

The Ladies Tigers team justified their Mini-Baja on the track twice this season.

Once in Montreal, the team proved their ability.

The track went up a ski slope, then back through the woods and down in a 2.3 mile loop.

At the top of the hill in the woods, Brittany hit a stump hidden under a puddle, breaking the front suspension.

“We had to carry pieces up the mountain and fix it in the middle of the woods and finish the race,” Brittany said.

Though the stump claimed several other front suspensions, the Lady Tigers were the only ones to get back on the track.

“We were the only ones to fix it and finish,” she said.

Despite the set-back, the team managed to finish in the middle of the pack in the competition.

What’s Next

Though Brittany will graduate in December, the competition’s rules say students can compete up to eight months after graduation so she can compete again next summer if she chooses.

However, she hasn’t made up her mind what to do next.

She will, however, be on hand to judge when Auburn host a Mini-Baja Tournament in 2006.

Conseugra says she hasn’t decided what she wants to do after school, “Everything,” she said with a laugh. “(Mini-Baja) has given me an idea of things I would like.

It’s given me an appreciation of how things are made.”

Oh, Mini-Baja has given her one more thing.

The chance to whip some guy’s teams.

“You always want Auburn to win, but when the girls Auburn team beats the boys auburn team, its always fun to win,” she said.

For more on the Mini-Baja teams and other projects visit: www.eng.auburn.edu/organizations/SAE/aumb