Competing against 100 other student teams, the Cornell Baja Racing Team placed second in a grueling four-hour, head-to-head endurance race, third for maneuverability and fifth overall at this year's competition in Greenville, S.C., April 8-11.

The student engineering project team, which builds an off-road racing vehicle that can withstand rough terrain, competed at the International Baja Society for Automotive Engineers Carolina competition with their car, GP06. They also placed fifth for design; fifth in the suspension and traction time trial, and also received an "Attention to Detail" award.

Teams compete to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. In addition to the endurance race, the cars are judged in such static events as design and cost and such dynamic events as suspension, maneuverability, acceleration and pull. Founded in 2003, the 40-member Cornell Baja Racing Team has competed for the last six years, each year building an entirely new vehicle.

The team's final competition of the year will be June 10-13 in Rochester and will include a water event where the team will showcase Cornell's first amphibious vehicle. The team will give updates on their progress on Twitter @CUBaja before and during the competition.

For more information, visit http://baja.mae.cornell.edu/.