MSC provides engineering support for student electric racing bike

MSC Industrial Supply Co. UK (MSC) is currently a 2024 engineering partner for Warwick Moto – the student-led electric racing bike team at the University of Warwick.

Warwick Moto sees a team of students from the School of Engineering collaborate with industry partners to design and build an electric superbike capable of competing at the highest level.

The new bike, which is being fully built by the students in one academic year, is set to be unveiled along with its heavily guarded and impressive spec in July, ahead of planned races in the Netherlands and the UK. The new bike, which is also fully electric, will be lighter, and faster than Frontier, the previous bike.

In 2021, the Warwick Moto team pioneered liquid immersion cooling for motorcycle batteries. The team delivered a race-ready bike named Frontier that featured an all-electric powertrain capable of matching the performance of a 1,000cc internal combustion superbike.

Engineers from MSC will provide a wealth of first-hand tooling and engineering support to the team, with a particular focus on the casing for the bike’s battery.

The Warwick Moto team has already undertaken several CNC machining and 3D printing development sessions at MSC’s Technology Centre in Wednesbury, while the MSC team will also provide ongoing consultancy support to the team.

Gregor Vetter, chief engineer, and undergraduate student said: “Designing and building a high-performance electric superbike provides hands-on opportunities that simply cannot be replicated in a classroom setting.

“We are immensely grateful to our sponsors for making this one-of-a-kind project possible and especially MSC for giving us access to the cutting-edge resources and expertise at the MSC Tech Centre. Working alongside industry professionals and utilising state-of-the-art equipment and facilities has allowed us to transform theoretical knowledge into practical applications.”

Dave Darby, managing director of MSC Industrial Supply Co. UK, commented: “When I first met the student team, I was taken by the ideas, energy, and progress they had already made. It is remarkable, especially when so many of those involved are juggling academic commitments alongside their involvement in the project.

“The 2024 bike is certainly the team’s most ambitious project to date, and it is a thoroughly rewarding experience hosting their engineers at our own technology centre and working alongside them.”

The sponsors for this year’s bike are WMG The University of Warwick, Norton Motorcycles, MSC and Catapult.

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

www.mscdirect.co.uk