Disc-O-Inferno

Disc-O-Inferno
Participation Information
UK Series	4, 6-7, Extreme 1
Team Information
Team Members	Mark Marshall Nick Bullock Oliver Reed-Smith (Series 4, 6-7)
From	Cambridge (Extreme 1, Series 6-7) University of York (Series 4)
Robot Statistics
Weight	99kg
Dimensions	0.30m x 1.20m x 0.80m
Top Speed	20mph
Drive	Electric motor
Weapons	Spinning disc
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Plenty of electric power to shake the body down! It can strut its funky stuff upside-down, the Hypno-Disc style blades will give plenty of Saturday Night Fever, but beware, Matilda wants the slow dance at the end!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Disc-O-Inferno in Series 4

Disc-O-Inferno was a robot which competed in Series 4, 6 and 7 of Robot Wars as well as the first series of Robot Wars Extreme.

Disc-O-Inferno's greatest achievement came in Extreme 1, where it won one of the two Annihilator competitors. It also reached the Heat Final in Series 6, but lost in Round 1 in both its first and last appearances.

Design

"You should think of any good robot as a weapon delivery system. (This does not mean you should ignore the drive train, it is very important!)"

— Mark Marshall, interviewed in a Robot Wars Club newsletter

Series 4 appearance

Disc-O-Inferno's weapon was a horizontal 30 kg (15 kg in its debut) solid aluminium spinning disc, initially spinning at 700-750rpm, being upgraded to spin at 3000rpm in Extreme, before being turned down to 1000rpm for Series 6, and run on 4HP. Throughout its appearances, it was armoured in polycarbonate.

In Series 4, the robot was powered by 2 Bosch 750 motors driving the wheels through motorcycle chains, and the disc was also powered by a Bosch 770, with two 6 inch blades.

Disc-O-Inferno's Series 7 appearance

It was box-shaped in Series 4 and Extreme 1, but took on a Fluffy-esque diamond shape from Series 6 onwards, and was fitted with disco-like lights at the back of the machine. It could also run inverted, the motors ran through motorcycle chains giving it speeds of up to 30 mph (20 mph in its final appearance) and was armoured in polycarbonate. In Series 7, the sides of the wheels were coloured green.

When it could get its disc working, it had the potential to cause major damage, but the robot had a 5 cm ground clearance and both the weapon and robot were very unreliable, especially in its debut.

Etymology

The robot's name was a pun on the 1976 song by The Trammps, Disco Inferno, while also referencing the robot's spinning disc.

The Team

The Disc-O-Inferno team in Series 4

Throughout its appearances, the team consisted of Mark Marshall, Nick Bullock and Oliver Reed-Smith, though Oliver Reed-Smith was not present for Extreme 1.

The team originally met at the University of York, which is where the robot was credited as coming from in Series 4, although Disc-O-Inferno was credited as coming from Cambridge in all of its subsequent appearances.

"Two graduates in computer science and a psychology graduate."

— Jonathan Pearce on the Disc-O-Inferno team in Series 4

Qualification

Disc-O-Inferno getting worked on at the filming of Extreme

Despite entering Series 4 and 6, the team chose not to enter Series 5, and only appeared in Robot Wars Extreme as a reserve.

At the Series 6 qualifiers, Disc-O-Inferno fought Bash Gordon, Tetanus 2 and a third, unknown robot. Disc-O-Inferno charged into the unknown robot, which damaged it, but also knocked Disc-O-Inferno into the arena wall, where it became stuck. Tetanus 2 went on to win the battle, but Disc-O-Inferno was given a discretionary place.

"We were concerned about disco inferno as they had one of the most distractive spinets at that time. Fortunately for us disco smashed straight into 'unknown' which damaged unknown and in the process flew off and got wedged in the side of the arena. I think their spinner partly cut into the arena wall and they then couldn't move. So that was two down within the first 5 seconds of the fight."

— Conrad Snook in 2019

At the Series 7 qualifiers, Disc-O-Inferno fought Sabretooth, Hannibal, and Hassocks Hog 2. It took out Sabretooth first, and after Hannibal broke down, it eliminated Hassocks Hog to win the qualifier and gain an automatic spot in the series. Hassocks Hog 2 was, however, given a discretionary place.

"As the fog horn sounded, I went for the safe option of attacking Hannibal, the flipper based robot. Disco Inferno went for Saber (sic) Tooth and immobilised it quite quickly by ripping off a side panel, and with it, its safety link. I felt it was now safe to go in and flip Saber Tooth in the air a few times, as did Hannibal. However, Hannibal's flipper jammed, and was unable to do any more flipping. I felt I had shown my flipper was able to do something, so gingerly wandered around the rest of the arena, trying desperately to keep out of the way of Disco Inferno's disk. I managed it for a while but then they went for me and all of a sudden the Hog was shot across the arena with a front panel flying into the air. The front was now exposed, and I could see the chassis was quite badly torn and bent. I also noticed that right hand drive was not working, and presumed the sudden jolt had caused the chain to jump off. I could only go in circles now, and it was obvious that Disco Inferno was the clear winner as the fog horn signaled the end of the battle."

— Noel Poncelet on The Hassocks Hog website

Robot History

Series 4

Disc-O-Inferno made its debut against fellow newcomers Major Tom and the twenty-fifth seed Shadow of Napalm.

Shadow of Napalm pins down Disc-O-Inferno's disc

All three robots started slowly, with Disc-O-Inferno moving forwards a little, then stopping. Shadow of Napalm bumped into it, then Disc-O-Inferno moved away, turning for an attack. Major Tom went after the York University machine, but Disc-O-Inferno avoided it as it closed in, and drove to the other side of Shadow of Napalm. With its disc up to speed, Disc-O-Inferno charged at Shadow of Napalm, but stopped just before making contact, as Major Tom bumped into the seeded machine's side. Disc-O-Inferno tried to turn away, and was pushed by Shadow of Napalm. Disc-O-Inferno turned to bring its disc into play against the Dartford Girls Grammar entry, cutting into the side and knocking the robot. Disc-O-Inferno turned to attack the front of Shadow of Napalm, but its disc was not spinning, so Shadow of Napalm merely drove past. Disc-O-Inferno drove past Shadow of Napalm, then turned around and charged at both opponents together, before reversing away. As Major Tom pushed against Shadow of Napalm, Disc-O-Inferno span and tried to get its disc up to speed. It drove at Shadow of Napalm with the disc spinning, but the disc was spinning slowly, and stopped on impact with Shadow of Napalm's front, becoming stuck under its opponents lifting arm. Major Tom separated the two by pushing Shadow of Napalm back, but Disc-O-Inferno had stopped moving altogether.

"Disc-O-Inferno, I thought the boys from the York University would be formidable, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of life from those three 750 watt motors."

— Jonathan Pearce

Disc-O-Inferno gets flung on the flipper

Major Tom nudged the immobile robot onto the floor flipper, then Dead Metal came out to position it correctly. The robot was tossed, and the battle was ended.

"And when the lights come down at the end of the disco, you know who's waiting - Matilda, for a snog!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Disc-O-Inferno is flipped

Disc-O-Inferno was therefore eliminated at the first round stage.

Julia Reed: "Absolutely gutting really. What happened?"

Oliver Reed-Smith: "Well, you can see that black wire that runs through our aerial. Well, it's gotten rather killingly caught behind our receiver switch, and when we hit the other robot, it just pushed it forward and turned all our electronics off...no power, couldn't move at all."

Julia Reed: "I think that is the worst thing that can happen in Robot Wars. And you haven't even got any war wounds, juicy wounds to tell your mates about."

Oliver Reed-Smith: "No, we haven't got any damage at all to the robot, it's just been turned off."

— The postmortem of Disc-O-Inferno

The team later entered the Celebrity Special where Disc-O-Inferno was put under the control of boyband Five.

Disc-O-Inferno with Five

It fought Sir Chromalot and Shane Lynch in Round One. Five painted the band's logos on the top and sides, relatively little decoration compared to the other celebrities.

"And we're gonna trounce all the competition, and we're gonna win, and you're gonna see us win, and if we don't, we're going to go in with the chisels and we're going to do it manually!"

— J Brown during Five's introduction

Disc-O-Inferno breaks down against Sir Chromalot

Disc-O-Inferno started slowly, moving a little towards its opponent, then turning away. Sir Chromalot pursued, and Disc-O-Inferno drove into the side wall, allowing Sir Chromalot to attack the side. Disc-O-Inferno got away from the arena wall, driving over the floor flipper. Sir Chromalot was close behind, and after driving over the flipper, Five turned their machine around to attack. However, the disc was not spinning fast enough and stopped on impact. Disc-O-Inferno turned around, tried to use its rear to push, then drove into the side wall. It slowly moved away, but as it neared Sgt. Bash's CPZ, it appeared to stop, then reversed into a spike on the side wall, where it stopped again, being pushed away by Sgt. Bash.

Sir Killalot attacks Disc-O-Inferno

Sir Chromalot was following them, but drove onto the flame pit, where it became stuck and the decorations caught light. After a push from Sgt. Bash, Sir Chromalot moved away. By this point, Disc-O-Inferno was by Dead Metal's CPZ, but was not moving, and the team confirmed that the robot had broken down. Dead Metal pushed it away, and Sir Chromalot positioned it on the floor flipper. Disc-O-Inferno was flung into Sir Chromalot before Sir Killalot picked it up, span it around then threw it aside.

"...in this you've got to "Keep On Movin'", otherwise "We Will Rock You" until "The Time Was Through For You", if you're "Getting Down", you'll be in the pit of oblivion, right now!"

— Jonathan Pearce makes a series of puns about Five songs

Sir Killalot picked it up again and dropped it into the pit.

"Five, no longer alive in Celebrity Robot Wars!"

— Jonathan Pearce reviewing the battle board

Extreme 1

"Watch out for the 30kg, huge three thousand RPM flywheel here, could be lethal. It's invertible, can run both ways up, twenty-four volt power - let's dance!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Disc-O-Inferno in its Extreme 1 Mayhem

Disc-O-Inferno exclusively entered the Mayhem and Annihilator in Extreme 1. It was not originally intended to be entered, but it was called in as a reserve due to a number of robots being unable to compete. Before their Mayhem battle, the Disc-O-Inferno team admitted they did not wish to compete in the following UK championships.

Julia Reed: "Why don't you want to enter next year?"

Mark Marshall: "It's lots of work, really"

Julia Reed: "That's the point! That's what boys like to do, spent years and years building things and then have them blown up in one second!"

Mark Marshall: "Well, this is the blow-up bit, isn't it?"

— Discussions on Disc-O-Inferno's "suicide mission"

It fought in the final Mayhem where the winner would qualify for the Second Annihilator. Here, it was drawn against Velocirippa and Comengetorix. It was hinted that its opponents were to team up against it, although both teams denied this claim.

As soon as "Activate" was called, Comengetorix and Velocirippa struck a pincer-attack on Disc-O-Inferno, the former using its axe but causing no damage.

"They were collaborating, they were musing, they were planning a joint attack on Disc-O-Inferno. I wonder if Mark Marshall and Nick Bullock and the Disco boys will forgive and forget, I doubt it!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Comengetorix and Velocirippa attack Disc-O-Inferno together

Disc-O-Inferno destroys Velocirippa

As Disc-O-Inferno backed away, Velocirippa drove at it, and the two discs collided, but without any damage before Velocirippa drove away. After moving around quite sluggishly, Disc-O-Inferno drove at Comengetorix, grazing its side and causing sparks to fly. Comengetorix's weapons fired at thin air but it did not move away, so Disc-O-Inferno reversed into it and pushed it back, whilst Velocirippa nudged at its side before reversing away from the action. The attack had caused part of Comengetorix's front to peel away and it was moving very slowly, so Velocirippa changed targets. Comengetorix axed the dinosaur-based machine, getting its axe stuck on one of Velocirippa's tusks, but Disc-O-Inferno rammed into Velocirippa's front to separate the two robots. Velocirippa rammed Comengetorix side on a few more times. The two then spun around each other, trying to attack, but in doing so allowed Disc-O-Inferno to hit Comengetorix in the bottom-right corner. Velocirippa rammed it, but again, neither blade damaged the other. However, Comengetorix seemed to have slowed down even more, and Disc-O-Inferno landed several more hits before it lost all drive, with only its axe still working. As Refbot counted out Comengetorix, Disc-O-Inferno suddenly landed an attack on Velocirippa's left side, dislodging an entire side panel and immobilising Velocirippa completely. A second attack on the same side tore the panel off altogether.

"Well, they don't want to win, Disc-O-Inferno! They say they don't want to be here! Look at that!"

— Jonathan Pearce, questioning Disc-O-Inferno's motives

Velocirippa was immediately counted out, and Shunt pushed it onto the floor flipper as Sgt. Bash attempted to grab hold of Comengetorix. After Velocirippa was flipped, Shunt used his axe to drag Comengetorix onto the floor flipper, where it was flipped as well. Eventually, Disc-O-Inferno nudged it towards the open pit, where Shunt pushed it all the way in.

"Nice to see it work for once!"

— Nick Bullock, interviewed after the battle

Disc-O-Inferno was through to the Annihilator, which Nick Bullock said would be 'a laugh'. In the Annihilator, Disc-O-Inferno fought Napalm 2 (whose team beat Disc-O-Inferno in Series 4), Spirit of Knightmare, Panic Attack, The Steel Avenger and Fighting Torque (under the guise of Hippobotomus).

"We're quietly confident that we can win this in our tea break, really!"

— Mark Marshall before Round 1

Disc-O-Inferno shears away Fighting Torque's side

In Round 1, Disc-O-Inferno did not move when "Activate" was called, as it was getting its disc up to speed. Panic Attack drove up to it, nudged it and tried to lift it, but Disc-O-Inferno turned away and drove off. It was blocked between Spirit of Knightmare, which was fighting Napalm 2, and Fighting Torque. The Steel Avenger charged at Fighting Torque, and Disc-O-Inferno reversed away and stayed out of the action. Whilst Napalm 2 was being lifted by Panic Attack and axed by The Steel Avenger, Disc-O-Inferno drove into its side, ripping some armour off, before driving away. It stayed out of the action again, until Panic Attack went after it, lifting it and carrying it back to where the other four where fighting, by Sir Killalot's CPZ. Whilst Napalm 2 was being lifted by Sir Killalot, Disc-O-Inferno got away from Panic Attack (off-camera), but came back and hit Spirit of Knightmare, then Napalm with the disc, but the disc was not spinning fast enough to do serious damage.

"Staying out of the action early on, waiting and biding their time"

— Jonathan Pearce on Disc-O-Inferno's tactics

Disc-O-Inferno drove around where The Steel Avenger, Panic Attack and Fighting Torque were battling, and hit Fighting Torque's side, causing a large gash. Spirit of Knightmare drove under it, but then drove past, shrugging it off. Disc-O-Inferno tentatively moved towards Panic Attack as it was lifting Fighting Torque around, but drove off when Panic Attack reversed into it. Panic Attack left Fighting Torque and reversed after Disc-O-Inferno. Disc-O-Inferno attacked Panic Attack's side with its disc, knocking off a piece of armour. It sluggishly went after Spirit of Knightmare, hitting its side and knocking it away. However, it then appeared to grind to a halt, moving a little, then stopping, then moving a bit more, then stopping again after being pushed by Spirit of Knightmare. The disc also slowed to a stop. Disc-O-Inferno retreated to the top of the arena, away from the other robots. When its disc was up to speed, it came back into the action, and targeted Fighting Torque, and after a few blows, it tore off the plastic covering of Fighting Torque, immobilising it.

"Is Fighting Torque still mobile? Oh, I don't think so now! What's happened to the hippo?"

— Jonathan Pearce as Disc-O-Inferno sliced the side of Fighting Torque

Matilda immobilises Disc-O-Inferno

Panic Attack lifted it up, and Spirit of Knightmare pushed it straight into Matilda's 27 kg flywheel, which seemed to immobilise Disc-O-Inferno. Fortunately for Disc-O Inferno, Fighting Torque was counted out first, putting Disc-O-Inferno through to the next round.

Disc-O-Inferno being worked on in the pits after Round 1

The impact with Matilda had damaged the electronics and even with assistance from George Francis of Team Chaos, the team were having a lot of trouble getting it working again.

"We've damaged some beams and things, we've managed to repair that, the problem is the electronics are now playing up, we're not sure what's going on there!"

— Mark Marshall

Napalm 2 withdrew from the Annihilator, because it could not drive in a straight line and the damage was irreparable in the time allowed.

At the start of Round 3, Disc-O-Inferno stayed out of the battle once again whilst Spirit of Knightmare and Panic battled The Steel Avenger, with Spirit of Knightmare flipping it and Panic Attack lifting it against the wall and holding it there. The Steel Avenger self-righted and charged at Panic Attack, and Disc-O-Inferno came in, hitting Spirit of Knightmare's side.

"Disc-O-Inferno seems to be alright after the repairs"

— Jonathan Pearce

Disc-O-Inferno is attacked by Panic Attack

It kept away from the opponents, until it slammed into Panic Attack's rear. Panic Attack went after it, getting under and lifting Disc-O-Inferno, but before it could drag it around, The Steel Avenger rammed into Panic Attack and axed, which allowed Disc-O-Inferno to fall off. Disc-O-Inferno tried to get away whilst Spirit of Knightmare rammed Panic Attack, but was followed by The Steel Avenger, which rammed its sides, before taking on Panic Attack again. Disc-O-Inferno came back into the action, hitting The Steel Avenger's side. Disc-O-Inferno was pushed about by Panic Attack, but it managed to get away again when The Steel Avenger charged at Panic Attack.

"This is very even so far. This is a good Annihilator battle."

— Jonathan Pearce as the battle continues

After fighting the other two for a while, The Steel Avenger charged at Disc-Inferno, driving straight at the disc, and Disc-O-Inferno appeared to stop. The Steel Avenger pushed Disc-O-Inferno around, and it started moving again. It drove at Panic Attack, but Panic Attack reversed back, pushing it next to the flame pit, before continuing to fight the other two. Disc-O-Inferno drove over the flames, then stayed out of the action some more. As Spirit of Knightmare flipped The Steel Avenger onto its side, Disc-O-Inferno came back and hit Spirit of Knightmare's side, bouncing into the base of The Steel Avenger on impact. The Steel Avenger couldn't self-right and was counted out by the Refbot.

After this round, Panic Attack was forced to withdraw, as the damage was irreparable in the time allowed. The Steel Avenger had caused damage to its forklift mechanism, whilst Disc-O-Inferno had caused severe damage to its rear, wrecking a motor by dislodging some vital magnets. Disc-O-Inferno was therefore through to the final.

"We're amazed it's still working, really. We've spent a lot of time hammering our beams back straight, and there's a few hits left in the disc, so we intend to make use of that!"

— Nick Bullock before the final

Disc-O-Inferno shreds Spirit of Knightmare

As the battle began, Spirit of Knightmare moved in much faster than Disc-O-Inferno. When the two made contact, Disc-O-Inferno's blade wasn't spinning fast enough, so it merely bounced off. Disc-O-Inferno drove away and turned around for another attack, but drove straight up Spirit of Knightmare's wedge. It managed to drive over the wedge quickly and evaded its flipper. Disc-O-Inferno reversed away, then Spirit of Knightmare drove under Disc-O-Inferno's side and tried to flip it, but Disc-O-Inferno fell off. It quickly turned, and tore the right-hand flipper bracket off, buckling some of the armour too. Spirit of Knightmare seemed undaunted and chased Disc-O-Inferno, who crashed into Refbot, before turning and landing a glancing blow on Spirit of Knightmare. After giving the wedge shaped robot another hit, Disc-O-Inferno drove around the arena before trying to attack a far more sluggish Spirit of Knightmare. The former heat-finalist reversed into the pit release and tried to attack Disc-O-Inferno, but it was not moving properly, and its flipper seemed to be firing on its own accord.

Disc-O-Inferno shreds Spirit of Knightmare's flipper

Eventually making their way to the far end of the arena, Disc-O-Inferno landed a few more hits and it was shown that Spirit of Knightmare's back end was badly twisted. Spirit of Knightmare tried a frontal assault, attempting to use its broken flipper as a shield against Disc-O-Inferno's flywheel. Spirit of Knightmare finally backed away, before being hit once more, suffering more damage. Disc-O-Inferno darted away and attacked the rear of Spirit of Knightmare, damaging the chassis even more.

"Described as a "refined wedge", Spirit of Knightmare. There is no refinement in Disc-O-Inferno's attacks"

— Jonathan Pearce

Eventually, Disc-O-Inferno managed to hit Spirit of Knightmare's side, knocking it away. With this attack, Spirit of Knightmare finally ground to a halt, leaving Refbot to count it out. Disc-O-Inferno landed a few more blows, causing more damage as it was counted out.

"It's almost crumpled! It's almost split apart! And they're out of the competition, Spirit of Knightmare! The Annihilator winner - Disc-O-Inferno"

— Jonathan Pearce on the wreckage that was Spirit of Knightmare

Eventually, Shunt and Sgt. Bash closed in on Spirit of Knightmare, with Shunt axing it and dragging it to the floor flipper. The resulting flip threw Spirit of Knightmare very close to the pit, and Shunt eventually pitted the runner-up, leaving Disc-O-Inferno as the champion.

Craig Charles: "Did you think you were gonna win?"

Mark Marshall and Nick Bullock (Together): "No, not at all!"

— In the post battle interview

Series 6

"Yes, ready to dance, but will it be an early cha-cha or ta-ta?"

— Jonathan Pearce as Disc-O-Inferno enters the Arena

In the last heat of Series 6, Disc-O-Inferno faced the experienced Behemoth, alongside newcomer Tridentate and fellow veteran Derek 2 in Round 1.

"The flywheel is mounted on an invertible robot with flashing disco lights. Thirty mile an hour top speeds, one of the quickest ever, could go all the way, this one!"

— Praise from Jonathan Pearce

Disc-O-Inferno immobilises Behemoth with a powerful side-on blow

Disc-O-Inferno smashes Tridentate

At the start of the battle, Disc-O-Inferno drove towards Behemoth, but turned away as Derek 2 came after it. Behemoth flipped Derek, and Disc-O-Inferno hit it with its disc, before attacking Tridentate with the disc. Behemoth bumped into Derek 2, and Disco-O-Inferno gave it another hit with the flywheel; these attacks knocked Derek 2 back on its wheels. Disc-O-Inferno drove to the bottom half of the arena, away from the other robots to get its disc up to speed, then made a charge at Tridentate, but missed. It turned around and slammed into Behemoth, which was by the flame pit. Behemoth was left spinning on the spot, and Disc-O-Inferno slammed into Derek 2's side, knocking it against the wall and immobilising it. Disc-O-Inferno quickly went after Tridentate, cutting into its side, before landing another blow on Behemoth. Disc-O-Inferno attacked Tridentate again, causing it to stop moving. It went after Behemoth again, landing a couple of blows on the scoop, leaving it dangling loosely from the front.

"...Disc-O-Inferno for me, has the pace to go all the way."

— Jonathan Pearce

With all three opponents immobile, Disc-O-Inferno was comfortably through. It attacked Tridentate again, before getting another hit on Behemoth, which caused it to stop moving altogether. It then stayed in the background as Tridentate was counted out, Derek 2 and Tridentate were flipped, and all three opponents were pitted.

Disc-O-Inferno was through to Round 2, where it faced Killer Carrot 2.

Philippa Forrester: "They're happy to be up against you, because you're in bits on the floor. What's going on?"

Nick Bullock: "We've been giving it a service."

Philippa Forrester: "Just a service? Are you sure its just a service, or is there anything wrong with it?"

Mark Marshall: "No, no, there've been no repairs or anything, there's been just general maintenance."

— Philippa gets the scoop on Disc-O-Inferno

Disc-O-Inferno damages Killer Carrot 2's tyre

Disc-O-Inferno tears at Killer Carrot 2. Note the destroyed wheel guard

At the start, Disc-O-Inferno slowly moved towards its opponent, but backed off when Killer Carrot 2 closed in. It drove close to Killer Carrot 2, and when it went in with the lifter, Disc-O-Inferno tore one of its front panel's off with the disc. It turned around and hit the front panel on the other side of the lifter, so Killer Carrot 2 turned and retreated. Killer Carrot 2 drove to the centre of the arena, and Disc-O-Inferno slammed into the front, tearing the other front panel off.

"That thirty kilo, one thousand RPM spinning blade already causing havoc, bumping and bashing into Killer Carrot 2!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Disc-O-Inferno turned around for another attack, but this time bounced off on impact. It hit the rear of Killer Carrot 2, then drove into the centre of the arena for another charge. However, the disc was not spinning, so stopped on impact and caused no damage. Killer Carrot 2 got its lifter under Disc-O-Inferno and flicked it up, but Disc-O-Inferno fell down easily. Disc-O-Inferno drove off to get its disc back up to speed, but when it drove at Killer Carrot 2, the lifter under Disc-O-Inferno, and lifted it up again. After driving to the top of the arena for another charge, Disc-O-Inferno charged at Killer Carrot 2, but drove at the wrong angle, so the disc missed Killer Carrot 2. Instead, Killer Carrot 2 got its lifter slightly under Disc-O-Inferno, but instead of lifting it, tried pushing it. Disc-O-Inferno retreated again, followed by Killer Carrot 2, and when Killer Carrot 2 got close, it made the mistake of exposing its side. Disc-O-Inferno hit the side and ripped a side panel away. Disc-O-Inferno's attack had also hit the wheel, and Killer Carrot 2 was left hobbled. Disc-O-Inferno charged at Killer Carrot 2, but drove up its lifter. Killer Carrot 2 flipped it up, and Disc-O-Inferno landed on one of its wheels, further hindering Killer Carrot 2's movement. As Killer Carrot 2 limped around the arena, Disc-O-Inferno drove around it, landing blows on the side, front and back. A couple of times, Disc-O-Inferno got close to the lifter, but drove away before Killer Carrot 2 could lift it. However, Disc-O-Inferno drove over a flame vent, which caused it robot to spin on the spot.

"What's Disc-O-Inferno doing? Spinning in the disco lights? What are they doing? Showing off I would think - or just heating up that blade for extra purchase."

— Jonathan Pearce misses the opportunity for a "burn baby burn" joke

Disc-O-Inferno catches fire

Refbot extinguishes Disc-O-Inferno's internal fire

Killer Carrot 2 nudged Disc-O-Inferno, and it reversed into the arena wall and stopped moving. It looked burnt, and smoke was rising from the machine.

"What's happened to Disc-O-Inferno? They are on fire!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Refbot quickly bathed Disc-O-Inferno with its fire extinguisher, restoring movement, and Shunt began to push Killer Carrot 2 across the arena. Disc-O-Inferno moved free and shot across the arena, just as time ran out. Because Disc-O-Inferno had restored mobility, the judges made a decision as normal, and voted that Disc-O-Inferno should continue.

"It was all going really well to start with, and then something in the robot burst into flames, and it all sort of went downhill from that point. ... It was some part of the electronics, it was like one of our motors, or one of our speed controllers, or somethings not right with the electronics."

— Oliver Reed-Smith after the battle

The robot had to be stripped down in the pits for repairs, but the team were able to get it working properly again for the Heat Final.

Philippa Forrester: "The Disc-O-Inferno team are working, working, working. In fact, these guys never stop working on their robot, and always say to me the same thing when I ask "What are you doing?"..."

Nick Bullock: "Giving it a service"

Philippa Forrester: "Yes, hmm..."

— Before the Heat Final

This meant Disc-O-Inferno faced Bigger Brother in the Heat Final.

Philippa Forrester: "Where's their vulnerable spot for your disc?"

Oliver Reed-Smith: "Uh, I don't think they've got one, to be honest with you. Unless we can strip a whole panel off by shearing all the bolts that hold it on if we get it just the right angle, we might be able to do that."

Philippa Forrester: "Am I detecting a ... a little shakiness here?"

Oliver Reed-Smith: "Yeah, we think it might be quite brief, and we'll be over the side!"

— Pre-battle interview

Disc-O-Inferno up against the side wall

As it had done against Hypno-Disc the previous year, Bigger Brother used its heavily armoured rear to charge at Disc-O-Inferno's disc. Disc-O-Inferno landed a blow on it, but the hard armour was undamaged. Bigger Brother tried to flip Disc-O-Inferno's exposed side, but missed its chance. Disc-O-Inferno struck the flipper then darted away, keeping its distance from Bigger Brother and trying to keep its disc facing the Watts machine. However, it ran into a CPZ and was caught in Sir Killalot's huge claw. Bigger Brother rushed in and flipped it against the wall. Disc-O-Inferno slid onto its wheels and ran into Sir Killalot again, trapping itself between Bigger Brother and the House Robot.

"They've got themselves into a right old pickle, Disc-O-Inferno! And they're on the arena side wall, they've got Sir Killalot one side and they've got the Bigger Brother flipper the other side! Talk about between a rock and a hard place!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Bigger Brother flipped Disc-O-Inferno against Sir Killalot, catching it between its flipper and wedge, before Sir Killalot pushed them both into the centre of the arena. Bigger Brother released Disc-O-Inferno and then flipped it over before it could get its disc up to speed. Relentless, Bigger Brother pushed Disc-O-Inferno across a flame pit and into an angle grinder, tossing it up slightly, and then flipping it all the way up onto an angle grinder. Disc-O-Inferno could not escape Bigger Brother's flipper, as it clamped down on a wheel and trapped it in place.

Bigger Brother holding its foe up against the side wall

"What can Disc-O-Inferno do here? Just stay in there, I would think! Is their spinning disc still rotating? I don't think it is, really!"

— Jonathan Pearce

It was given a brief reprieve when Bigger Brother flipped it and managed to drive free. However, Disc-O-Inferno paused to get its disc up to speed, allowing Bigger Brother to catch it and flip it against another side wall, activating the pit as it rammed it into the wall. Using its spikes to hold the wheels, Bigger Brother pushed Disc-O-Inferno into Shunt. Both Shunt's axe and Bigger Brother's flipper missed, and Disc-O-Inferno escaped. With its weapon not working and clearly on the defensive, Disc-O-Inferno drove itself straight into the pit.

Disc-O-Inferno pits itself

"The last dance of the night! Ha ha ha ha. And they chose the exit very quickly! Why not, eh?"

— Jonathan Pearce

Bigger Brother was therefore through to the Semi-Finals, and Disc-O-Inferno was eliminated at the Heat Final stage.

Craig Charles: "I'm sorry, but that was cowardice!"

Mark Marshall: "Yeah, afraid so. Discretion was the better part of valour, and we were stuck between Killalot and Bigger Brother, and our control and weapon had gone, so we just thought..."

Craig Charles: "You just thought suicide!"

Mark Marshall: "..we just thought "we'll go and hide in the one safe place in the arena"."

— The debrief with Disc-O-Inferno

Series 7

"A Heat Finalist in the Sixth Wars and back to dance again."

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Disc-O-Inferno to the Seventh Wars

Tough as Nails directs Disc-O-Inferno's blade into B.O.D.

Disc-O-Inferno falls victim to Tough as Nails's party trick

An unchanged Disc-O-Inferno machine was placed in Heat M of the Seventh Wars main competition. It was drawn up against Dutch entrants Tough as Nails, New Blood competitors B.O.D. and Tag Team winners Robochicken in its first round battle. In the battle, Disc-O-Inferno started off by avoiding its opponents, driving past Robochicken and B.O.D., which were fighting together whilst Tough as Nails opened the pit. Once the disc was up to speed, Disc-O-Inferno was immediately seized by Tough as Nails. Tough as Nails pushed Disc-O-Inferno over to the pit, pushing it into B.O.D. as it did so. Disc-O-Inferno's blade ripped off a piece of B.O.D.'s armour, but Tough as Nails hung the robot over the pit of oblivion and eventually dropped it down, eliminating Disc-O-Inferno from the competition at such an early stage. Tough as Nails, by the end of the battle, had pitted all three of its opponents, and although B.O.D. was the last one of the three in the pit, Robochicken was deemed to be mobile the longest of them, so the latter went through to the next round along with Tough as Nails.

"Very, very good tactics by Tough as Nails, and the disco didn't last long did it?"

— Jonathan Pearce after Disc-O-Inferno is pitted

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 6
• Losses: 4

The second and fourth rounds of the Annihilator, skipped because Napalm and Panic Attack withdrew from damage, are omitted from the wins tally.

Series Record

• Disc-O-Inferno shortly before Series 3
• Disc-O-Inferno in the arena for Series 4
• Disc-O-Inferno in the pits during Series 7
• Official Series 7 photo

1/4

Main Series	Disc-O-Inferno Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Did not enter
The Fourth Wars	Heat, Round 1
The Fifth Wars	Did not enter
The Sixth Wars	Heat Final
The Seventh Wars	Heat, Round 1
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Did not enter
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Annihilator Champion
Series 2	Did not enter

Trivia

Disc-O-Inferno's name spelt wrong on its Battle Card

"Its creators claim that DI was actually the first spinning disc type weapon - but Hypno-Disc built their machine faster. It would be great to see the two spinners against each other!"

— The original Robot Wars Magazine on Disc-O-Inferno

• According to Issue 6 of the original Robot Wars Magazine, Disc-O-Inferno's team claimed that it was the first robot to be equipped with a horizontal flywheel, but it was not finished in time for Series 3.
  • The intended Series 3 version of Disc-O-Inferno was later confirmed by Martin Dawson of the Milly-Ann Bug team in June 2019.
• On Disc-O-Inferno's battle card, its name is misspelt as "Disc-O-Inferrno".
  • Similar spelling errors of its name were shown in Heat E of Series 4 - Disco Inferno in the team caption in the UK version, Disc O Inferno on the battle boards in the UK version and Disc-O Inferno in the Grand Champions dub of the heat.
• Disc-O-Inferno was the only robot in its Series 7 melee not to be hit with an item from the Drop Zone.