2026 Baja SAE Season Wrap-Up

GMN Bearing USA’s ABEC 7 high precision ball bearings are made for high speed and heavy load applications.

GMN radial ball bearings are versatile, great in small spaces & when axial loads move in both directions.

GMN angular contact bearings (spindle bearings) are expertly crafted for speed, precision, & accuracy.

GMN Bearing USA offers quality, mid-precision radial ball bearings from ORS.

Ideal for heavy industrial and high-speed machinery, Koyo cylindrical roller bearings feature tight tolerances, high radial load capacity, and excellent RPM ratings.

Our one-way sprag clutches are great for applications with low to high torque capacity.

Includes built-in ball bearing support. Supports HEAVY loads & has a high torque capacity: 53 to 588 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 10 to 60 mm (0.393 to 2.362 in)

Includes built-in ball bearing support. Supports MEDIUM loads & low to medium torque capacity: 53 to 267 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 17 to 40 mm (0.669 to 1.57 in)

No built-in ball bearing support. Good for large orders & low to high torque needs: 1 to 2673 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 2 to 240 mm (0.078 to 9.448 in)

A unique "non-lift-off" design without drag clips ideal for automotive builds or performance racing.

No built-in ball bearing support. Has no RPM limits & Supports high torque needs: 609 to 14,060 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 38.09 to 220 mm (1.499 to 8.66 in)

This heavy-duty clutch (aka a hold-back clutch) is good for high torque operations and ensures motion freezes in place. Bore (ID) sizes: 15 to 40 mm. (0.59 to 1.73 in)

Designed for HEAVY-DUTY applications that require tough durability.

Our non-contact labyrinth seals are the first line of protection for bearing systems.

The best protection for your bearing. Easy to install with a simple “drop-in” next to your bearing. No added space needed. CF seals offer 100% sealing efficiency against splashing liquids.

Protection against low contamination & splashing liquids.

Designed with grooves in the outer ring to offer more protection (than our L-type seal) against contamination and direct spray liquids. Liquid gets pushed out through outer grooves when in rotation.

Our GMN Gap Seals are plastic and a great choice for washdown applications, such as food conveyors and food manufacturing facilities

a team of people watching a baja sae vehicle drive in mud

Photo source: The Ohio State University

The 2026 competition season for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja program has come to a close, and once again the durability of GMN sprag clutches held up under pressure.

100+ university teams travelled from Oregon to New York to Ohio this year to put their made-from-scratch, all-terrain baja vehicles to the ultimate endurance tests. Students are judged on design, acceleration, maneuverability, and more, and it’s no surprise that GMN-sponsored teams came out on top in every competition!

Due to their high torque capacity and compact design, teams often integrate GMN sprag clutches into the wheel hubs or gearboxes of their baja vehicles, allowing free rotation in one direction and the transmission of torque in the other.

As a proud sponsor of 50+ teams, we’re honored to support engineers of the future as they experience the challenges of real-life scenarios that may come their way.

Final Results

The following are stats from the top 10 overall rankings that include GMN-sponsored teams from each competition.

Baja SAE Oregon – May 2026

2^nd - Virginia Tech

3^rd – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

4^th – Johns Hopkins University

5^th – Université de Sherbrooke

6^th – Oregon State University

7^th – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

8^th – Cornell University

10^th – Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)

Baja SAE New York – June 2026

1^st – Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)

2^nd – Virginia Tech

3^rd – École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS)

4^th – Oregon State University

6^th – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

7^th – Johns Hopkins University

8^th – Université de Sherbrooke

9^th – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

10^th– Cornell University

Baja SAE Ohio – September 2026

1^st – Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

3^rd – École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS)

4^th – Johns Hopkins

5^th – Cornell University

6^th – Oregon State University

7^th – Université de Sherbrooke

8^th – University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

9^th – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

10^th – The Ohio State University

View the full list of results

Congratulations to these young men and women on a successful 2026 season!

We’re thrilled that GMN precision components could help make a difference in vehicle performance and durability. See you on the track next season!