Building bikes, shaping engineers
Founded nearly ten years ago in the University of Bath’s engineering workshops, Bath Zero began as a small group of students enthusiastic about designing and building electric motorcycles. Since then, the group has grown both in size and ambition with a focus on competing at an international level.
Innovation through collaboration
The team brings together engineering students from across the faculty. They provide a collaborative environment to apply and refine the skills learned in lectures.
This shared passion for hands-on engineering and innovation has fostered a close-knit community. Team members learn from one another while working toward a common goal.
“One of the best things about working in a team is sharing the highs and lows of a project. Celebrating victories, like getting sponsorship, finishing designs, or manufacturing parts, is ten times better with people who are on the same mission.” Reza Murfi, Meng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
Built for competition
Previously, the team entered and competed at the electric Isle of Man TT class. But when this event was cancelled due to COVID, the team’s competitive activities largely paused in the years that followed. In 2024, Bath Zero decided to refocus efforts and compete in MotoStudent, the motorcycle equivalent of Formula Student.
MotoStudent is an international student engineering competition held every two years at the MotorLand Aragón Circuit in Spain. The event sees university teams from across the world compete against each other. The competition consists of a series of events, including technical inspections, dynamic performance tests, qualifying sessions, and a final race. Each element contributes a weighted number of points toward the overall standings.
Bath Zero attended the 2025 Motostudent event to watch and learn from the other teams in action. The team is now fully charged to design and race their prototype motorcycle in the 9th MotoStudent in 2027. Poised to become only the second UK team to compete there, they’ve set their sights on the Best Rookie award. They are determined to make a bold impact on the international stage.
“Since we are starting as beginners, we wanted to get an idea of what had already been done within the competition to evaluate what other teams were doing well and what we can maybe do better than them in.” Tom Farrell, Meng (Hons) Mechanical with Automotive Engineering
The road ahead
Bath Zero have a busy year ahead, preparing their motorcycle prototype for competition in 2027. But the team is driven to push boundaries, embrace new challenges and take Bath Zero to even greater heights.
“It has been a great positive contribution to my degree. I can’t recommend it enough to people who are thinking about doing it. While it can be quite challenging at times, the rewards far outweigh the negatives, and this is even before we’ve competed!” Reza Murfi, Meng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering