MotoStudent is a competition for students at engineering universities to design, build and compete with a prototype motorbike. The organisation provides each team an engine, wheel rims, a set of slick tyres and a braking system; the rest of the motorbike is designed and built by the team: frame, suspension, exhaust system, fairing, electronic system. The prototype is then tested and evaluated by a jury during the final at the Motorland Aragòn FIM Circuit. Politecnico di Milano team is currently participating in two categories: Petrol, with internal combustion engine, and Electric.
The Polimi Team
PMF - Polimi Motorcycle Factory is the motorcycle racing team from the Politecnico di Milano. Born in 2015 out of the passion for motorcycles of five mechanical engineering students, it now consists of students from all disciplines, under the guidance of Professor Alan Facchinetti of the Mechanics Department. The team is currently participating in two categories: Petrol, with internal combustion engine, and Electric. The team works like a real racing department: from design to static and dynamic testing, from logistics to PR and social media, there are many challenges to overcome!
Results
2023
Electric Motorcycle category
- 2nd place Best Innovation
- 3rd place Final Race
- 3rd place Acceleration Test
- 1st place Vmax - maximum speed test
- 2nd place MotoStudent Overall
Petrol Motorcycle category
- 2nd place Best Design
- 2nd place Acceleration Test
- 3rd place Gymkhana
2021
Electric Motorcycle category
- 1st place Best Industrial Project
- 2nd place Innovation electric
Let's meet the team!
HI GUYS! THE HISTORY OF PMF - POLIMI MOTORCYCLE FACTORY STARTED EIGHT YEARS AGO AND NOW YOU ARE A GREAT BUNCH OF PEOPLE! HOW MANY ARE YOU, AND WHAT DO YOU STUDY?
Today we are around 80 students, most of whom from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, but in recent years many students from Automation and Control Engineering and Computer Engineering have also joined us, and, especially for the communication and marketing area, students from Design and Management Engineering.
The great thing is that a student of mechanics will not necessarily only work in that area, but can also try out other avenues and discover new aptitudes.
HOW ARE YOU ORGANISED TO WORK AT YOUR BEST?
We have four technical departments: Structures, Power Train, Fairing and Logistics. The contact persons of the technical departments together with the team leader and the technical directors form the sports management group.
Each department organises itself in an autonomous manner and has weekly meetings.
There is a period when meetings focus on brainstorming: we experiment with ideas and proposals, and new members and new managers gain experience. Then, when they come out the regulations of the new MotoStudent competition, held annually at the Aragon circuit in Spain, we move on to the operational phase and decide how to deploy our energies. Three to four months before the event we receive all the components, assemble the motorbike and begin track tests: we do them in Castelletto di Branduzzo (province of Pavia) and Cremona. The closer we get to the date of the competition, the busier the weeks and the work become. We only have one race every two years, so we want to give it our all: during the last months we also work late evenings and weekends. Those who are here know what it means to work hard!
STAYING TOGETHER FOR SO LONG CAN BE COMPLICATED: WHAT KEEPS YOU TOGETHER?
Definitely passion: we are all united by our passion for two wheels and motorsport. Then there is also a healthy dose of madness - everyone is a bit 'crazy’ here!
SO, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IS IT WORTH IT?
Of course! The emotions you feel during the race are unique and the bond you create with your team-mates is something indelible. Plus, you have fun while learning, which for a student at the Politecnico di Milano is the best.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD ANY FUNNY UNEXPECTED EVENT OVER THE YEARS?
Yes, we have! The journey to the Aragon track is magical: some of us go by van, others directly by motorbike. One year, the guys travelling by motorbikes got distracted by some French scenery and wandered around for a long time, forgetting to check their watches and realising a few hours before the start of the race that they were terribly behind schedule. Fortunately, they managed to get to Aragon in time for the race!
AND HAVE THERE BEEN ANY HARD MOMENTS?
During the years of Covid-19 restrictions, it was not easy to prepare two models because access to the laboratories of Politecnico di Milano was limited. This is also the reason why there has been a decline in applications for membership, with many members leaving the team and few new members joining in. However, thanks to the help of Andrea Danese, who stayed on as team manager even after finishing his studies, we have maintained a certain continuity with the past. So, in 2023 we were able to bring two new prototypes, Tatanka and S.T.U.K.A., to the track, and some other teams came to congratulate us on our electric motorbike: this is something that is not to be taken for granted, a great satisfaction beyond the competition result.
WE CANNOT BUT CONCLUDE THE INTERVIEW BY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE! WHAT WILL THE TEAM'S NEXT STEPS BE?
Our goal for 2025 is to focus even more on the electric bike, trying to reduce the weight of the bike, which affects speed, especially in the uphill parts, which are very present in the Aragon circuit. As a result, we will also try to figure out what to do with the Petrol prototype. There are only a few people left in this category, and we have to figure out whether it is worth investing new energy or just making a few changes to the old prototype in order to concentrate all our resources on working on the Electric prototype.
SO, GOOD LUCK AND GOOD WORK!
