Spikasaurus

"Named because of the two spikes at the front, of high-tensile steel. Has a srimech, can pull a car, gets up to 17mph. Oh yes, you have to get on your bike to keep up with the spike!"

- Jonathan Pearce introduces Spikasaurus

Spikasaurus was a competitor robot that competed in Series 4 of Robot Wars. It was eliminated in the first round of The Fourth Wars and finished in joint last place in the Pinball Warrior Tournament, but surprised everyone when it won the Northern Annihilator, a special event that put it against five experienced and successful robots, including then UK Champion Chaos 2.

The team consisted of Stuart Pearson, Andrea Whittle, Lee Ainscough and Andrew Pearson from Manchester, but only the first three fought in the main series. Andrew Pearson was not present for the main series, but replaced Whittle and Aiscough in the Pinball and Annihilator respectively.

Design
"A spiky character indeed with its two 12 inch prongs of high-tensile and interchangeable ramming bar, can pull a car. Can raise 17mph but can it take punishment?"

- Jonathan Pearce introduces Spikasaurus in the Northern Annihilator

Spikasaurus was a basic box-shaped robot. There were 4 spikes on Spikasaurus, two 18" spikes at the front and two 12" spikes at the rear and an interchangeable ramming bar. All the spikes were made from aircraft grade high tensile steel. The robot was very quick at 17mph, capable of pulling a car. It also featured four roll-bars on top so it would roll back onto its wheels if it was turned over.

The artwork and name were thought up by a GCSE Graphics Art student at Southlands High School, Chorley as part of a competition. 12 students contributed to the artwork of Spikasaurus, with the final artwork being based on the design of a student called Steven Whittaker.

Qualification
Spikasaurus originally attempted to qualify for Series 3, but failed to do so. It was nonetheless invited to take part in the Tag Team Terror alongside Schumey Too, and reportedly a "Grudge Match" against the same robot, but a behind-the-scenes accident caused both events to be cancelled, and Spikasaurus did not make an appearance.

Spikasaurus qualified for Series 4 after beating Hit Man and Octospike at the qualifiers.

Series 4
Spikasaurus was placed in a first round melee against two returning robots who had lost in the first round of the last wars, in the number 30 seeds Stinger and Bulldog Breed 2. However, Spikasaurus failed to bring its spikes into play, and was flipped repeatedly by Bulldog Breed 2. It successfully rolled back onto its wheels, but Stinger battered the roll-cage, putting dents in it so that it was less effective. The time ran out, and the judges eliminated Spikasaurus. "We fought a gallant battle but lost to two great Robots..."

- Spikasaurus website

Spikasaurus also entered the Pinball Warrior Tournament with its roll-bar and spikes removed. However it only scored forty points, notably hitting the multi-ball release but not knocking any balls into the pits, and hitting the 50 point target after cease was called, placing it equal 15th with Attila the Drum.

Spikasaurus returned as the overwhelming underdog in a very experienced Northern Annihilator - every other robot was either a semi-finalist or a seed, with some being both. However, it went at it hard, ramming Killerhurtz over Dominator 2 and helping to immobilise it, before tussling with Suicidal Tendencies. Killerhurtz was brought back into the action and ganged up with Dominator 2 to knock out Chaos 2. Despite having a battery damaged by Dominator 2, Spikasaurus had also immobilised Suicidal Tendencies, but it was too late to save the champion.

In the second round, Killerhurtz landed a few blows on Spikasaurus, but it was Stinger who fell, eliminated by the axe of Dominator 2. "We spiked Suicidal Tendencies and got welded together. To get free we had to remove Suicidal Tendencies' side panel and hit it hard with a big hammer."

- Spikasaurus website

The third round saw Spikasaurus slam Suicidal Tendencies around, before joining it and Dominator 2 in attacking Killerhurtz. Suicidal Tendencies broke down during the attack, whilst Spikasaurus took another axe blow from Dominator 2, wrecking a second battery. "Round 4 - Dominator 2 and Killerhurtz both underestimate the power of Spikasaurus and try to take each other out. We help Dominator 2, as Killerhurtz scares us to death."

- Spikasaurus website

In round 4, Spikasaurus aided Dominator 2 in attacking Killerhurtz, impaling it and prompting Sir Killalot to come in and separate the two. However, Sir Killalot mangled Spikasaurus in the process, and it was a very battered machine going in to face Dominator 2 in the final.

Indeed, it seemed like a one-sided battle. During the opening moments of the fight, Dominator 2 impaled its axe into the front of Spikasaurus. This allowed Spikasaurus to drive Dominator into Dead Metal's CPZ, but in doing so impaled itself on the arena wall. Refbot and Dead Metal freed it however, and the battle continued. Dominator and Shunt punctured the armour of Spikasarus numerous times and eventually Dominator 2 got Spikasaurus on its wedge. However, Spikasaurus slowly moved away and Dominator 2 remained idle. Dominator 2 had clearly broken down, and Spikasaurus was deemed the winner. "We couldn't believe it, Dominator 2 just stopped moving. We were on our last legs, the batteries had all but run out after the five battles, with very little chance to recharge. We just kept inching back and forth to show we were still alive. We WON!!! Spikasaurus are Victorious!!!...Damage to Spikasaurus - Swiss Cheese rings a bell..."

- Spikasaurus website

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 5
 * Losses: 1

Trivia

 * Spikasaurus is one of three robots who won an annihilator after going out in the first round of the Championship it competed in directly before the annihilator, along with Disc-O-Inferno and Kan-Opener. It is also the only one of the three to only make one attempt at the UK Championship.
 * Spikasaurus is also one of only two robots to win a UK side competition but never win a battle in the UK Championship, along with Kan-Opener.
 * Spikasaurus is the only Annihilator Champion and side competition winner of any kind not to compete beyond its debut series.
 * Spikasaurus had the slang acronym F.U.B.A.R. (Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition) written on the bottom of its chassis- as seen whenever it got flipped over.