Panic Attack

Panic Attack was a robot that competed in the British television show Robot Wars. In Series 2, it was just a box, with a set of electrically powered lifting forks, powered by a home made system. It was emblazoned with the image of a spider. The spider was the result of a school competition to come up with a design of something that made you panic. A 12 year old girl designed the spider. With his prize money from Series 2, Kim built a newer machine. This one had a srimech, a new body shape, and more effective forks, which were capable of completely overturning opposing machines. The top-mounted self-righting mechanism proved to be unreliable, and was eventually removed. Added in Series 4 were a set of side "skirts" to prevent all but the lowest of robots from getting underneath it, as well as sloping sides. The fourth model had improved skirts, and the srimech was updated to a top flipper, which was the favourite with the driver Kim Davis, who stated it was, in his opinion, the best version.

The Series 6 version was flatter, with silver forks and painted gold as opposed to yellow, as the team had run out of yellow paint when the time came to paint it. As a result, this model was unofficially, but universally nick-named Panic Attack Gold. For Series 7, the fourth model was reused, with the addition of a rear skirt, and with the srimech being replaced by an anti-hammer cushioned top.

The robot competed in Series 2-7 of Robot Wars, winning the second series and making the semi-finals in three other wars. It also won the "Sumo Basho" competition in Series 4, meaning that it was the only machine to defeat Shunt in this event twice. Panic Attack was one of the longest appearing robots, appearing in six wars and two extremes. Althought the only grand champion never to reach another Grand Final, Panic Attack reached the most Semi-Finals of all Grand Champions at four.

Panic Attack's signature move was to slip beneath a robot, using its forks to get a grip inside the opponent's armour, wheels or other openings, before driving into the pit release and pushing it down the pit. It achieved this many times, against robots like Axe Awe, S.M.I.D.S.Y., Manta and Kat 3.

Team Members
The team captain of the robot was Kim Davies, who was originally joined by Kevin Pritchard and Lee Wicombe. In Series 3, Pritchard left the team to create a similar robot named Evil Weevil and Davies was joined by his son Michael and Simon Rosen. Christian Bridge won a competition in Robot Wars Magazine to join the team for Series 4. In Series 7, Davies got a job as a technical assistant on the show and left, so the team was entirely changed. Pritchard returned and took over the controls with teammates Paul Wier and then-webmaster of the official Panic Attack website, Jamie McGarry.

Series 2
Panic Attack was the first robot to compete in Heat F. In the Gauntlet, it took the centre route and, after a nervy start, made it onto the ramp. However, as it got halfway up, Sir Killalot followed and held the ramp down. Unable to turn back, Panic Attack made a flying leap off the ramp, right onto Dead Metal. After several attacks by Shunt, Panic Attack had achieved 10.8 metres, which was enough to put it in third place and into the next round. (The time-out of The Parthian Shot would have put it through anyway). In the Sumo Trial, it took its revenge against Shunt after he fell off the platform after 13 seconds, putting it through to the Arena stage. In the Arena Semi-Final, Panic Attack managed to get underneath Whirling Dervish and flip it over, before disabling Sergeant Bash. In the Arena Final against Disruptor, it managed to easily push its opponent into the pit, its body being too low for Disruptor's saw to reach. This easily saw it through to the Semi-Finals. In the Semi-Finals, Panic Attack finished in equal last place in the Gauntlet with Mace, getting stuck after just 6.9 metres. Both robots then contested the Gauntlet again at the same time, but Mace was pitted by the Sentinal so Panic Attack progressed to the next round. Panic Attack then finished first in the Pinball Trial with an impressive score of 320 points. In the Arena, Panic Attack pushed Mortis into the PPZ, and with the help of Matilda, pushed its opponent into the pit of oblivion and qualified for the Grand Final.

In the first round of the Grand Final, Panic Attack pushed Killertron into the PPZ, where it was flipped over by the lance of Sir Killalot. With its opponent at the mercy of Sir Killalot, Panic Attack spent the rest of the battle attacking the house robots and managed to push Sgt. Bash into the pit, going in itself in the process. However, Killertron had long since been immobilised and Panic Attack went through. The final battle was against Cassius, and it was Rex Garrod's machine that started the stronger, driving underneath Panic Attack, sending it into the air and back onto its wheels. Cassius then attempted to attack Panic Attack before reversing and turning around, which allowed Panic Attack a run at the back of its opponent and it took this opportunity by pushing Cassius into the pit of oblivion, thus claiming the title of Second Wars Grand Champion.

Series 3
Panic Attack returned for Series 3 completely rebuilt since Series 2, with a stronger forklift and new self-righting mechanism. It won its first round battle by driving around, lifting up, then completely overturning Axios before overturning Matilda. "Toe Cutter could cut a melon in half, as they told everyone. It looked good, but unfortunatley for them, PA was much tougher than a melon."

- Panic Attack website

Panic Attack repeated this tactic successfully against Toe-Cutter in Round 2 and tried to take on Sgt Bash. In the heat final, Panic Attack had problems getting a hold of the much faster and more agressive X-Terminator, but eventually slammed it into the arena wall. This ruptured X-Terminator's gas canisters, disabling its axe and self-righting mechanism. Eventually, Panic Attack managed to flip X-Terminator over to progress to the semi-finals.

In the first round of the semi-finals, Panic Attack came up against Thing 2. Thing 2 started well, pushing Panic Attack into a CPZ and then into an arena wall, but Panic came back, reversing into Thing 2 and causing it to be turned over by an arena spike. The spike rose up again, this time lifting Panic Attack into Thing 2 and turning it over onto its back, unable to self-right. In the next round, Panic Attack came up against Firestorm. Both robots spent the early stages of the battle attempting to get underneath each other, but neither were able to flip the other over. This was until Panic Attack was lifted up by an arena spike, giving Firestorm the chance to get underneath and pin its opponent against the arena wall. Panic Attack righted itself but lost out on a judges' decision and was eliminated from the competition.

After the main competition was over, Panic Attack represented Wales in The First World Championship. In its first round match against 101, Panic Attack was able to get underneath its opponent and lift the robot into the air with its lifting spikes, turning it upside-down in the process. Panic Attack then picked up 101 again and, while attempting to carry 101 to the pit, it accidentally reversed in itself.

Series 4
Panic Attack returned for Series 4 as the fourth seed, in recognition for winning Series 2. In the first round, it efficiently teamed up with S.M.I.D.S.Y. against Overkill GTI, lifting it up and pushing it around the arena, proceeding on a judges decision. In Round 2, it got hold of Saw Point very quickly and tried to lift it out of the arena, but got it stuck against the grinders. In the end, it turned Saw Point over to Sir Killalot, who dumped it in the pit. Panic Attack met up with S.M.I.D.S.Y. again in the heat final and had a lot of trouble catching their faster opponent until it got its forklift's wedged in its rival's wheel guard, allowing it to dump the Cyperspace machine down the pit.

In the Semi-Finals, Panic Attack was drawn up against Spawn of Scutter. After lifting it up several times, it drove the Essex machine into the arena wall, stranding it there. This led to a battle against Stinger. Panic Attack's tough armour deflected the numerous blows Stinger administered, as it pushed the axlebot around the arena and into several CPZs. The judges had to make a decision and gave the match to Stinger on a split, and extremely controversial, call. "It's a shame, as I think Stinger was the only robot that Panic Attack couldn't have beaten outright!"

- Jamie McGarry

Panic Attack also competed in the Sumo Basho side-competition. It was the only robot that successfully managed to push Shunt from the platform. After 21.5 seconds, both robots fell from the platform. As Shunt hit the ground first, Panic Attack was ruled the winner. As the only robot to actually defeat Shunt, Panic Attack won the tournament.

Panic Attack later competed in the War Of Independence special. In its first round match against Rammstein, it used its forklifts to overturn the American machine several times, although this had little effect as its opponent was invertible. However, Rammstein quickly lost power (its batteries were designed to last for the three-minute matches held in the USA, rather than the five-minute ones held in the UK), which allowed Panic Attack to lift it up and pit it. This led to a rematch from Series 2 against Mortis. Although Panic Attack managed to flip Mortis onto its side and push it into Sir Killalot, the judges gave the split decision to Mortis due to the numerous axe blows it landed.

Extreme 1
Panic Attack competed several times in the first series of Robot Wars Extreme. Because of its status as former champion, it featured in the All-Stars competition, where its first fight was against Firestorm 3, the robot that ended its reign in Series 3. Within the first few seconds, however, Firestorm got under Panic Attack, flipped it over, then pushed it against the arena wall so that it couldn't self-right.

Panic Attack also competed in a Vengeance against X-Terminator and a Wild Card Warrior battle against Axe Awe. It overturned X-Terminator, who was unable to self-right due to a new spike addition. Axe Awe, however, was able to self-right, so Panic Attack proceeded to use its signiature move to slip beneath Axe Awe and pit it. It finally fought in the International Inferno alongside Manta, Maximill and Flensburger Power. It rammed Flensburger Power once, causing it to break down, whilst Maximill was defeated by Manta. Finally, Panic Attack secured the win after making its signiaturel pitting maneuvre against Manta.

"Sheak Khan? What a name! What does it mean, I wonder?"

- Jamie McGarry on the Panic Attack website

Panic Attack fought Shear Khan and Diotoir in a Mayhem qualifier. Panic Attack went after Shear Khan first in an attempt to silence the newcomer's big weapon and was sucessful, flipping it over and leaving it in the flames. Strangely, Diotior didn't set on fire but was flipped anyway, and the poster of Panic Attack that Diotoir had put on its scoop was incinerated. Diotoir did not self-right and was counted down. Panic Attack tried to awaken it, but when that failed it hooked Diotior onto its back and performed its usual maneuvre by dropping the Dublin machine into the pit. Panic Attack then attacked Shunt, but received a yellow card from Refbot. Regardless, Panic Attack was through to the annihilator.

In the Annihilator, Panic Attack began by lifting up both Disco-I-Inferno and Fighting Torque. Napalm then drove on top of Panic Attack, but the Series 2 champions couldn't flip it and it got down. Panic Attack then drove away from the action, before returning to the fray. It then got under The Steel Avenger, carrying it around for a while. It then got under Fighting Torque and carried it around for some time. Panic attack then reversed into Disc-O-Inferno, whose disc tore a smal bit of armour off the Welsh Robot. It then attacked The Steel Avenger, and almost flipped Disc-O-Inferno, but id didn't matter because Refbot counted out the destroyed Fighting Torque. In Round 2, Napalm was forced to pull out due to damage fro the first round, so the remaining four robots fought on. Panic attack began by pushing the flipped Steel Aveger towards the arena side wall, where it eventually self-righted from. Panick Attack flipped the axe-weilding robot again, just as the Welsh robot was hit by Disc-O-Inferno. Panic Attack then lifted up the invertable machine but was shoved away and driven under by Spirit of Knightmare. Panic attack recovered, and pushed the wedge shaped robot towards the arena wall. The Steel Avenger then attacked the former champions. Panic Attack then did a bit of dodging from the other robots, before both almost shoving Spirit of Knightmare into the pit and driving into it itself. It then attacked Spirit of Knightmare again, before attacking The Steel Avenger once more. However, the robot this time got a blow onto one of Panic attack's side skirts. The Steel Avenger was then flipped and counted out, because it wasn't able to self-right. However, Panic Attack forfeited its place in the next round, as it had been too badly damaged.

"Why bother? Everyone wants to see the house robots being attacked!"

- Panic Attack website

Series 5
"It was the awesome driving skills of Kim Davis impressing us all. First knocking out Barber-Ous, and then instigating the fall of Tiberius the emporer, before making sure Kat 3 had used up all of its nine lives."

- Jonathan Pearce on Panic Attack's run to the finals

Panic Attack entered Series 5 with an improved self-righting mechanism. However, it ran into problems with its first opponent, Barber-Ous. The spinning drum managed to disable the lifting forks and mangle a bit of the top armour. However, this run ended when Panic Attack pushed it into Sgt Bash, which disabled one of Barber-Ous' wheels. Panic Attack was then able to push it down the pit. Panic Attack on the early attack on Tiberius 2, who got its claw into Panic Attack's weapon. Panic Attack worked free and the pushing continued. Panic Attack then lifted Tiberius up again and pinned it to the wall. The House Robots came in, and Panic Attack tried to flip Shunt over. Panic Attack then did its normal trick and dropped Tiberius down the pit, almost falling in itself. Panic Attack moved through to fight Kat 3, getitng an early lift on Kat 3. However, it couldn't get loose again. Ramming at the wall couldn't free it, so Panic Attack opened the pit, but couldn't get free. Finally, however, it shook Kat 3 loose and dumped it down the pit.

In the semi-final against Pussycat, Panic Attack started the stronger, pushing the pyramid shaped robot into the CPZ. However, problems with the aerial hindered Panic Attack's movement severely, making it stop and start frequently. Pussycat was able to take advantage of this, damaging the skirts and lifting forks, eventually winning a judges decision. This put Panic Attack into the loser's melee alongside Firestorm 3 and Wheely Big Cheese. However, the first attack by Wheely Big Cheese left it unable to move properly again. Firestorm eventually knocked it back into contention and spent most of the match pushing it around. A late lift-up of Firestorm in the last 10 seconds wasn't enough to save Panic Attack and it lost the judge's decision again.

Series 6
"It hasn't been tested, it's slow, it doesn't turn, we're not happy with it....No! Not a chance. The way it's going now, I very much doubt it."

- Kim Davis and his response to Craig Charles' question about winning another title

Panic Attack came to Series 6 as the 8th seed and with a completely new design. However, it didn't have a srimech, was not as easy to control as the previous version, wasn't as fast and wasn't as powerful. In its first battle against R.O.C.S., Corkscrew and Kronic 2, it had its skirt torn off by Corkscrew's spinning body. After Corkscrew drove itself into the pit, Kronic 2 flipped R.O.C.S. over, giving Panic Attack a break to the next round. There, it faced A-Kill, who was unable to damage Panic Attack with any of its weapons. After a long and relatively boring fight (as described afterwards), Panic Attack managed to pit A-Kill. This lead to a match-up with Terrorhurtz. There, the former champion received numerous blows from the double-headed axe of Terrorhurtz, which damaged the top armour and began to pry it loose. When it was pushed into the CPZ, Matilda managed to break the panel clean off. Rendered immobile, Panic Attack was counted out of the Sixth Wars, before being pushed onto the drop zone, where a washing machine fell. "However, this was just a waste of time, as the machine bounces off the tough robot!"

- Jamie McGarry

Extreme 2
Panic Attack also appeared briefly in the second Extreme series, in the Commonwealth Carnage, representing Wales. Making it through the first round alongside Crushtacean after grappling with Terror Turtle, it ran into Firestorm yet again, once again losing after getting flipped onto its side.

Series 7
Once again, Panic Attack were seeded 8th for the 7th Wars. This time, the original version of the machine was reused, albeit without the srimech. In its first battle, it managed to quickly overturn Spin Doctor, then teamed up with the fellow Welsh robot Mega Morg to pit Edge Hog. In its next fight against Tough As Nails, however, Panic Attack's forklifts were broken off mid-way through the match, which allowed the Dutch machine to dominate the battle, which it eventually won on a judges decision.

Panic Attack later made a comeback in the All-Stars special. Its first round battle was against Kat 3, Firestorm 5 and Bigger Brother. However, all four machines ignored each other and proceeded to attack the House Robots instead. Unable to flip Cassius Chrome over, despite several attempts at trying, Panic Attack qualified alongside Kat 3 (although only because Firestorm and Bigger Brother both drove down the pit). It was defeated in the next round against Dantomkia, who threw it over, then out of the arena.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 31
 * Losses: 11

Series Record

 * Series 1: Did not enter
 * Series 2: Grand Champion
 * Series 3: Semi-Finals, Round 2
 * Series 4: Semi-Finals, Round 2
 * Series 5: Semi-Finals, Round 1
 * Series 6: Heat Final
 * Series 7: Heats, Round 2