Thank you letter from Michigan Baja Racing Team

2018 Michigan Baja Racing Team at the unveiling of the 2018 race car.

Performance Titanium Group,

We at Michigan Baja Racing want to thank you for your support of our team as we continue to push our educational boundaries in the Baja SAE series. PTG has allowed us to expand into the use of advanced materials in order to further push the design and reduce the mass of our vehicle. Every year, Michigan Baja completely redesigns a single seat off-road vehicle to compete in three North American SAE sanctioned competitions. On March 5, we unveiled our 29th competition vehicle which incorporated more Titanium and advanced materials than ever. This allowed us to reduce another 10 pounds off of our vehicle that was previously the lightest in the series. Without the generous support of our sponsors, this would not be possible.

PTG was able to support our team with multiple sizes of their Ti 6Al-6V-2Sn alloy that we used extensively in our drivetrain not only to reduce mass, but also moment of inertia. We used the donated material extensively in our CVT, gearbox shafts, and axles. For the first time our custom one piece joint and axle combination (jaxle) and inboard universal joint was made entirely out of titanium. Being able to make the jaxle and universal joint out of titanium allowed us to have improved ground clearance in the rear suspension, as well as significantly reducing the mass and moment of inertia over a steel equivalent. Reducing mass is always one of the primary focuses on the team and being able to explore new materials to help save even more has been an exciting and challenging matter for our team. Everyone in the Baja series is given the same engine, so having to less mass to lug around with it is always a huge benefit.

Titanium inboard universal joint.

We look forward to being able to put our new designs to the test at competition this year in Maryland, Kansas, and Oregon. The competitions are a three-day event that consist of static and dynamic events and then culminate in a four hour endurance race. The first day consists of a technical inspection to make sure the car is safe, a design even to show off our engineering acumen, and a sales presentation based on having to produce our prototype at 4,000 units per year. The second day consists of a point A to B acceleration and hill climb, maneuverability event to test the turning ability, and a suspension and traction event to test the cars suspension. The final day is the true test of the car which features a four hour wheel-to-wheel endurance race with 100 other teams on the track.

This year, Michigan Baja is pursuing our fourth consecutive Baja National Title known as the Mike Schmidt Memorial Iron Team Award. I am confident in saying that Performance Titanium Group has helped us achieve those goals through their donations.

From all of us with Michigan Baja Racing – THANK YOU!

Completed driveshaft assembly with titanium axle and inboard universal joint.

PERFORMANCE TITANIUM GROUP: A CUT ABOVE THE REST