ELECTRIC SUPERBIKE DESIGNED BY STUDENTS TO RACE THIS SUMMER

A team of undergraduate engineers are designing and building an electric superbike to race this summer. The team of 40 students from a range of University of Warwick departments are working on the project and have secured superbike racer Tom Weeden to ride the bike. He will also be involved in the testing and trials.

With the government announcement that it intends to ban the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid cars by 2035 the race to electrify the motor industry is on, and motorbikes aren’t to be overlooked.

The 40 University of Warwick students from a range of departments including: WMG, School of Engineering, Computer Science, Physics and Maths will work together to make the electric superbike possible with thanks to support from Rajputana Custom Motorcycles and Mupo Race Suspension.

School of Engineering student Aman Surana is managing the Warwick Moto team. He said: “The reason why I’m doing engineering is because of my interest in motorsports, be it four wheels or two. More than theory and the principles behind engineering concepts, it’s about the practical experience and finding real solutions rather than just what works on paper.

“It’s great to have the support from our sponsors Rajputana Custom Motorcycles and Mupo Race Suspension, and further support from WMG centre High Value Manufacturing Catapult, leading academics in the industry are helping us to make this possible.”

A ticketer to Norway will make travel easier

Hungerford-based Ticketer ended the year 2019 on a high by acquiring Norwegian ticketing company FARA, which has offices in Poland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Ticketer’s investment in FARA will increase the company’s product portfolio and strengthen its expansion into mainland Europe.

Like Ticketer, FARA (an old Norse word for travel) wants to make travel easier for passengers. Through the latest technology in electronic ticketing machines, back office software and passenger-facing apps, they focus on providing real-time information for use on board, online and on mobile to increase the use of public transport.

John Clarfelt, Ticketer CEO, said: “We are thrilled to bring together two leading payment providers in transport. By virtue of working together, in future we will have significantly wider development capabilities and product portfolios for our customers both in the UK and across the rest of Europe.”

FARA and Ticketer both specialise in ticketing and location-based solutions for public transport and share many similar business attributes. Both companies are leaders in their respective markets and have a strong reputation for industry leading R&D and delivery.