Alpha was one of several featherweights built by Team BlazerBotics, which competed in the Featherweight Championship of Series 7 of Robot Wars. It failed to progress beyond its heat after losing the judges' decision in its singular fight.
Design[]
Rear view of Alpha in the arena
Alpha was an invertible two-wheeled robot with a box-shaped chassis and a small stainless steel front scoop as its weapon. It featured a top speed of 15mph, meaning it was one of the fastest featherweights in the competition, and it had small black bars on either side of its chassis. The back end of the robot was decorated with the Team BlazerBotics logo, and was heavily armoured. However, the robot's lack of an active weapon meant it could not leave a lasting impression on the Judges.
The Team[]
- Main article: Team MAD
Alan Young (right) at the controls of Alpha
Alpha was built by Team BlazerBotics, nowadays Team MAD, consisting of the young brothers Alan and Dave Young. Whilst Dave Young entered the Featherweight Championship with G2, Alpha was controlled by the older brother Alan Young in its only battle. Alan Young had previously competed with the featherweight Flybot, the antweight Chroma, and would eventually join his younger brother on the Apollo team in Series 10, having led the construction of the machine.
Robot History[]
Series 7[]
In the opening featherweight melee of the series, Alpha fought returning competitors Kitty and fellow Blazerbotics robot G2, Cygnus X3 (successor of AM CVn), Mini-Maul, Prince of Awe and Rip (successor of Neoteric).
Alpha engages with Kitty early on
Alpha is flipped by Prince of Awe
Alpha began by shunting Kitty into the CPZ, before shoving Prince of Awe into the wandering Sir Killalot. It then rammed into an already immobile Mini-Maul, and pushed it across the arena floor into the side wall. Alpha darted around for a while, dodging Rip and driving up on Prince of Awe's flipper, where it was overturned. Being invertible, Alpha was largely unaffected, and it darted away while Prince of Awe chased after it briefly.
Alpha has a close call with Growler
Growler later grabbed hold of Alpha and opened the pit with it. Helpless in the House Robot's grip, Alpha was spun round for a couple of seconds before it was released back into the fight. Once it was free, Alpha attacked Kitty, pushing it from behind and ramming it into G2, before ramming Rip, whose flipper had stopped working by this point.
- "We haven't seen much of Alpha yet, Alan Young, 18 years of age, driving and designing."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Alpha shoves Rip into the CPZ
Late on, Alpha shoved Rip into a CPZ, and then attacked Prince of Awe from behind, just before G2 and Cygnus X3 were thrown by the Floor Flipper. Cease was called with four robots, including Alpha, still active, but it was Prince of Awe and Rip who progressed via a Judges' decision.
Results[]
| ALPHA - RESULTS | ||
| Series 7 | ||
| Special Events Featherweight Championship, Round 1 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Cygnus X3, G2, Kitty, Mini-Maul, Prince of Awe, Rip | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
| Main Series | Alpha Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Did not enter |
| The Third Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fourth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fifth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Sixth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Seventh Wars | Featherweight Championship, Round 1 Featherweight Championship with G2 Withdrew before qualifiers with Merlin |
| Series 8 | Entered with Apollo Entered Pilot with Merlin |
| Series 9 | Entered with Apollo |
| Series 10 | Entered with Apollo |
| Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
| Series 1 | Did not enter |
| Series 2 | Entered with Gladiator, Flybot, Chroma and Hades |
NOTE: MONTE, a robot built by Team MAD, was also loaned to Paul Streeter in order to enter the 2016 pilot
Outside Robot Wars[]
Alpha MX
Alpha MX in 2014
After Robot Wars entered its 12-year hiatus, Alpha was rebuilt into Alpha MX, featuring design improvements enabling it to withstand featherweight spinners in full-combat events. A second version was subsequently built, although the original version also remained competitive, having fought in over 200 battles.
Trivia[]
Alpha's cameo appearance in Series 10
- Alpha made a cameo appearance in Heat 1 of Series 10, in a photograph showing Dave and Alan Young around the time of 2004.
- Alpha's only televised battle saw it fight up against G2, another robot from Team BlazerBotics.
[]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||