RAPID CITY - A team from the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City finished first in an endurance event during last month's 2008 Baja SAE competition at the Caterpillar Edwards Proving Grounds in Peoria, Ill.,

The Mines team entered two off-road vehicles in a racing design and marketing competition that involved 94 college teams from throughout the world.

The School of Mines' team car No.117, built last year and managed by underclassmen for this year's competition, won both the four-hour endurance race as well as a sales presentation event, and was fourth overall.

Mines' car No. 7, designed and built primarily by senior students, was sixth overall.

Car No. 117 scored 49 out of 50 in a design report. Car No. 7 tied for third place with 48 points.

The Baja SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team is part of Mines' Center of excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Production, or CAMP, whose goal is to give students exposure and training in real-world engineering design projects.

"This is all about education," said Camp co-director Dan Dolan of Mines' mechanical engineering department.

The Baja team designs, builds and races an off-road vehicle that will survive the rigors of rough terrain.

The Mines team overcame brake problems, which prompted an all-night thrash to get their cars through technical inspection.

Amanda Bumann of Sioux Falls drove one of the cars during an acceleration test.

"It was a little nerve-wracking," she said, because of the brake problems as well as bad weather.

Recent Mines graduate Stephanie Johnson of Rapid City said working with the team will help her as she begins her career as a design engineer with Spirit Air Systems of Wichita, Kan., later this summer.

Johnson's emphasis on the Baja team was in frame design. In the past three years, the team has been able to trim 53 pounds from the car's weight, while maintaining structural strength.

"It's applying all I've learned all these years. We've had a lot of good cars, and we're making them better each year," she said.

Chris George of Huron was new to the team this year, and took the brunt of the work load with the brake maladies.

"I just kind of jumped in wherever they needed me," he said.

That showed an integral part of the team's success, Dolan said. All of the CAMP projects emphasize team-building and people skills.

"We get better each year with preparing students on the non-technical side, becoming better teammates and sharing the leadership," he said.

"What they were able to accomplish this year with the problems they had with the brakes and winning the endurance event, was incredible," he said.

Other team members included Ayla Brausen of Ipswich, Cody Egle of McCook, Neb., Jason Fields of Milbank, Ben Franchuk of Dickinson, N.D., Pat Fraser of Huron, Ben Grassel of Spearfish, Craig Grunenfelder of Billings, Mont., Jesse Heaton of Midland, Wade Heidecker of Belle Fourche, Trevor Krugman of Wayne, Neb., Amery Kuhl of Worthington, Minn., Kris Olson of Snohomish, Wash., Jason Williams of Piedmont, and Travis Zelfer of Black Hawk.

Upcoming for Mines' Formula SAE team is a road-racing competition at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Mines placed seventh in the F-SAE West competition last year.

"They're looking to win it this year," said Dolan. "I think they've got the car and they've got the team to do it."

Another CAMP team is preparing for an unmanned aerial vehicle competition in late July at Fort Benning, Ga.

Other CAMP programs work with aerodynamics, robotics and ham radios, involve the design of concrete canoes, steel bridges and vehicles to run on human power, alternative fuels and chemical reactions.

Mines hosted the 2007 Mini-Baja event at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, with the off-road portion taking place at the Black Hills Racing motorcycle enduro site north of New Underwood.

Dolan said chances are good that Rapid City will host the event again in the near future.

As for the Baja team, Bumann, a senior, has already called the team's finish at next year's competition.

"One-two," she said.