- "There are people who only want to do one thing, to break another person's toys. Some people have it even worse, they have to watch it happen. The excessive violence, the destruction, the chaos! Welcome to all destructive voyeurs. Today, it is allowed. No more false shame... this is Robot Wars! Six electric Pitbulls battle till [sic] the end. And I have some good news for all those peace-loving civilised people who watch it as their guilty pleasure. In a bit, five of those six nasty machines will be completely dead. Destroyed, gone! In 30 minutes, this country will be safer off."
- — Rob Kamphues' introduction (Mech+ subtitles)
Heat C of Dutch Robot Wars: Series 1 was the third of five heats which determined the Grand Finalists of Dutch Robot Wars: Series 1. This was the third televised heat of the Dutch Battles, and was broadcast by BNN on Nederland 2 on 14 January 2002.
Competing Robots[]
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|---|---|---|
| Botwork | ||
| Weight | 98kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.28 x 0.97 x 0.40m | |
| Power | 2 x 24V electric motors | |
| Weapons | Rotating disc | |
| Strengths | Mobility | |
| Weaknesses | Speed | |
| Team Members: Leyton Rowley & Steve Kestle | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hammerhead | ||
| Weight | 98kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.22 x 0.82 x 0.44m | |
| Power | 2 x 750W electric motors | |
| Weapons | Rotating hammer & flipper | |
| Strengths | Heavy weapon | |
| Weaknesses | Vulnerable tyres | |
| From: Delft | ||
| Team Members: Niels de Carpenter, Richard van den Berg & Joris Favie | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Torque | ||
| Weight | 99kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.00 x 0.62 x 0.45m | |
| Power | 2 x 750W electric motors | |
| Weapons | Electric axe | |
| Strengths | Compact shape | |
| Weaknesses | Vulnerable tyres | |
| Team Members: Ekdor Polman, Charl Classen & Jan Harmen Wesselink | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Meshuggah | ||
| Weight | 100kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.80 x 0.83 x 0.62m | |
| Power | Wheelchair motors | |
| Weapons | Rotating flywheel | |
| Strengths | Powerful weapon | |
| Weaknesses | Reliability control | |
| From: Delft | ||
| Team Members: Job van de Kieft, Oscar Nieuwland & Rutsch van Nooroenburg | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pika 2 | ||
| Weight | 99kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.93 x 0.97 x 0.77m | |
| Power | 2 x wheelchair motors | |
| Weapons | Rotating flywheel & spikes | |
| Strengths | Armament | |
| Weaknesses | Vulnerable tyres | |
| From: Limburg, Belgium | ||
| Team Members: Marco van Hek, Tim van Hek & Joeri Ramakers | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| X-Bot | ||
| Weight | 88kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.00 x 1.34 x 0.44m | |
| Power | 2 x wheelchair motors | |
| Weapons | Scoop | |
| Strengths | Lifting power | |
| Weaknesses | Armour | |
| From: Oss, Noord-Brabant | ||
| Team Members: Jeroen van Lieverloo, Jaap van Donzel & Andreis Langolis van den Bergh | ||
Round 1[]
Botwork vs Maximum Torque[]
- Bridget Maasland: "What is your strategy?"
- Leyton Rowley: "Wheels. They have rubber tyres, so we'll aim for the wheels."
- — Pre-battle interview with the Botwork team and Bridget Maasland (Mech+ subtitles)
Maximum Torque gets underneath Botwork
Botwork tears the side of Maximum Torque as Matilda damages the other
Maximum Torque made the first move, cautiously approaching Botwork, which was stood still with its disc facing away from Botwork. Botwork turned when its had its disc spinning fast enough, hitting the side of Maximum Torque. Maximum Torque drove around to the side of Botwork and pushed, and Botwork tried turning away, Maximum Torque got underneath Botwork and pushed it across the arena, into an angle grinder. Maximum Torque reversed, allowing Botwork to get away from the angle grinder, and Maximum Torque drove straight at Botwork, but as it did so, it drove straight into the disc, which ripped loose one of Botwork's front panels. Maximum Torque spun around, before charging at the front of Botwork. It briefly got under the front, but Botwork clipped the side with its disc, and Maximum Torque turned out from under Botwork. Maximum Torque spun around, and Botwork hit the side, ripping off chips from the side. Botwork drove around its opponent, hitting it with its disc, and though Maximum Torque did manage to push back a little, Botwork hit the front and ripped off the loose panel.
Maximum Torque, on the edge of defeat
Maximum Torque tried getting under the side of Botwork, but couldn't, and Botwork continued to grind against it with its disc. Maximum Torque drove up the arena and spun, and Botwork slowly drove after it, but it drove straight onto Maximum Torque's wedge, allowing its opponent to push it against an angle grinder. Maximum Torque reversed, releasing Botwork, and as Maximum Torque spun, Botwork reversed across the arena. Maximum Torque followed it as Botwork drove into Matilda's CPZ, but this proved to be a mistake as it drove straight into her flywheel, which hit the side, flipping the robot up and ripping loose one of the side bars. This left Maximum Torque immobile, and as Botwork ground against it with its disc, Refbot counted it out. Botwork left its immobile opponent, and as Refbot finished its count, Sgt. Bash grabbed it and with the help of Matilda, pushed it to the floor flipper, and after it was thrown, Matilda pushed Maximum Torque into the pit.
- "Maximum Torque is maximum dead!"
- — Eric Corton summing up the result of the battle (BNN broadcast, translated from Dutch)
Winner: Botwork
Hammerhead vs Pika 2[]
- Bridget Maasland: "What is your strategy? How are you going to go about it?"
- Marco van Hek: "Ram them. Just ram them."
- Bridget Maasland: "Months of planning went into this, didn't it? Months of tinkering. And technical thinking. And the result is, ram them."
- Marco van Hek: "Yeah, we've held a meeting, and that is what we decided on, ram them."
- — Simple tactics from Team VHS-Robots (Mech+ subtitles)
Hammerhead swings its spinner into the wheel of Pika 2
Pika 2 started by charging at Hammerhead, whilst Hammerhead got its spinning hammers up to speed. Hammerhead drove at Pika 2 as it charged at it, but Pika 2 used its wedge shape to get under the side of Hammerhead, and pushed it a little. Hammerhead drove off the wedge, and Pika 2 reversed, before driving at Hammerhead as it spun its hammers. The hammers merely bounced off the front of Pika 2. Pika 2 tried to get under the side of Hammerhead, but couldn't, so reversed. Pika 2 drove around Hammerhead, whilst Hammerhead got its hammers up to speed. Pika 2 drove at the front of Hammerhead, which bounced off the wedge, but Pika 2 got under one of Hammerhead's wheels. Pika 2 couldn't push Hammerhead very far, and reversed as Hammerhead tried turning to strike Pika 2 with the hammers. Pika 2 drove up the arena and turned, charging at the side of Hammerhead, but as Pika 2 tried to get underneath, Hammerhead turned, hitting Pika 2 with its spinning hammers, allowing it to get off the wedge of Pika 2.
Hammerhead, beached on Pika 2
Hammerhead landed a few more blows with the hammers as it turned around Pika 2, landing a couple on the side, then one on the back, and another on the other side. Hammerhead then turned around to the front, but the hammers went over Pika 2's wedge. Hammerhead reversed and drove at Pika 2, but drove onto one of the front spikes and became beached. Regardless, Refbot counted Pika 2 out, as it had stopped moving first. Sir Killalot reversed out of his CPZ, pushing the two robots together, before Matilda reversed in, hitting the side of Pika 2 with her flywheel, throwing it over and ripping a whole wheel off as she did so. Matilda pushed Pika 2 onto the floor flipper, and cease was called.
- Bridget Maasland: "Does it feel like a decisive victory? Because Matilda did finish the job for you guys."
- Niels de Capentier: "Yes, certainly. I'm just happy I won. However, it was painstaking."
- — Post-battle interview with the Hammerhead team (Mech+ subtitles)
Winner: Hammerhead
X-Bot vs Meshuggah[]
As Meshuggah's spinning disc was not working correctly, the team left the safety pin in the disc in order to prevent it from being damaged. Meanwhile, X-Bot had experienced drive issues in testing, with Jeroen van Lieverloo reporting that it was only running 'at one third of power' due to faulty relays. After one of the relays melted and got stuck, van Lieverloo explained that he had to completely rewire X-Bot, though an error on his behalf left it with the aforementioned power problem. X-Bot's scoop also proved to have very little effectiveness at this point.
- "Meshuggah had a petrol powered weapon, that failed before the fight, so it was not just the pin. X-bot was built pretty weak, so it would be in a lot of pieces I think."
- — Jeroen van Lieverloo
X-Bot wedges under Meshuggah
Meshuggah started by trying to drive around X-Bot, but X-Bot stopped it with its lifter. Meshuggah turned around and drove to the other side of the arena, and X-Bot drove at it. Meshuggah tried to drive past its opponent, but X-Bot got the lifter underneath Meshuggah. Meshuggah reversed off the lifter, and drove around to the side of X-Bot and started pushing it. X-Bot tried reversing, but Meshuggah kept pushing. However, Meshuggah suddenly stopped moving, allowing X-Bot to turn away from its opponent. X-Bot prodded Meshuggah with its lifter, and Refbot came over to count X-Bot out. Sir Killalot pushed the immobile competitor up the arena.
- "3...2...1...Flyyyyy like an eagle! Yeehaw!"
- — Eric Corton, as Meshuggah flies on the Floor Flipper (BNN broadcast)
X-Bot is pushed back by Meshuggah
Meshuggah being attacked by Dead Metal
As it was thrown, Dead Metal got in position to wait for its to land, so when it did, it went straight into his saw. Dead Metal cut into Meshuggah, then grabbed it and pushed it to the pit. However, as he pushed it in, Dead Metal fell in as well.
Afterwards, it was revealed by Team Tie-Rip that X-Bot had been suffering further issues of its own. Though able to get its scoop underneath Meshuggah, the robot was operating at only 12 volts instead of its full 24 volt output. Thus, X-Bot did not have enough drive power to potentially push Meshuggah into the pit.
- Bridget Maasland: "Guys. We weren't expecting that, were we?"
- Jeroen van Lieverloo: "We certainly weren't. Well, we got lucky. Our opponent's weapon didn't work. And they lost power to move."
- — Post-match interview with Team Tie-Rip (Mech+ subtitles)
Winner: X-Bot
Losers Melee[]
Maximum Torque vs Pika 2 vs Meshuggah[]
Prior to the fight, Meshuggah was forced to retire after it could not be repaired following its earlier defeat. This left Pika 2 and Maximum Torque to fight alone.
- Bridget Maasland: "One robot is eliminated as it no longer runs, that is Meshuggah. He is no longer in the race, and I think you guys don't mind, because that was a strong contender."
- Ekdor Polman: "Meshuggah had a very dangerous weapon. But it didn't work as it is broken. We are going to try again. We've completely rebuilt it. Everything is working now."
- Bridget Maasland: "There was little of [Maximum Torque] left, wasn't there?"
- Ekdor Polman: "It was completely cut in half."
- Bridget Maasland: "Does the hammer work now? Because it didn't work during the battle."
- Ekdor Polman: "The hammer has been fixed and is working."
- Bridget Maasland: "So you can take on "Pika 1.5", and then some?"
- Ekdor Polman: "We will try to minimalize "Pika 1.5" and then some, yes."
- — Interview with Ekdor Polman from Maximum Torque, jokingly referring to Pika 2 as "Pika 1.5" (adapted from Mech+ subtitles)
Pika 2 drives under Maximum Torque
Shunt axes Maximum Torque
Pika 2 had the quicker start, driving straight under the front of Maximum Torque and hitting it with its flywheel. Maximum Torque turned and tried to drive off the wedge, which it almost managed to do by reversing, but Pika 2 merely turned to get underneath again. Pika 2 tried to push Maximum Torque, but couldn't get any traction, and turned around. It tried to get around the back of Maximum Torque, but Maximum Torque turned away and drove up the arena. Pika 2 drove after it and soon caught up. Pika 2 got under the side of Maximum Torque, but couldn't push it back, so reversed. Maximum Torque turned and drove away, but Pika 2 drove after it, so Maximum Torque turned to face its opponent. Pika 2 easily got under Maximum Torque, getting it on the flywheel, and slowly pushing it down the arena. Maximum Torque fired its hammer repeatedly, but this did nothing to stop Pika 2. Pika 2 reversed and Maximum Torque escaped, but Pika 2 chased after it, getting behind it and pushing it into Shunt, who axed it. Whilst Shunt was axing and lifting Maximum Torque, Pika 2 drove away and held back.
- Rob Kamphues: "You said earlier that you were going to be careful and drive it into the pit if you sensed danger, but you actually did that? Man, you’re a coward! (turns to other team member) What has he done?"
- Maximum Torque team: "He had to end it there. He lost steering."
- Rob Kamphues: "For real?"
- Maximum Torque team: "For real. he fought till the end, well, for as far as I allowed it, because I paid for it!"
- — Post-match interview with the eliminated Maximum Torque team (translated from Dutch)
Maximum Torque (left) takes a nosedive into the pit
Shunt let Maximum Torque go, but Maximum Torque appeared to have lost drive on one side, and Pika 2 got under it again, but couldn't push, so turned away, then drove down the arena and hit the pit release button. Maximum Torque was rocking back and forth by the edge of the pit, attempting to pit itself to avoid taking further damage. Pika 2 took advantage, giving it a little nudge to knock it in.
- Rob Kamphues: "I think you’re the youngest Robot Wars contestant ever!"
- Tim van Hek: "Yes."
- Rob Kamphues: "And you steered that entire thing all by yourself?"
- Tim van Hek: "No."
- Marco van Hek: "Yes you did, you were the one steering, weren’t you?"
- Rob Kamphues: "That was you steering?"
- Tim van Hek: "Yes."
- Rob Kamphues: "And you sent them [Maximum Torque] straight to the house robots?"
- Tim van Hek: "Yes."
- Rob Kamphues: "So you’ll be steering again in the next round?"
- Marco van Hek: "He will, he’s better than I am!"
- — Post-match interview with Team VHS-Robots after Pika 2 won the Losers' melee (translated from Dutch)
Winner: Pika 2
Semi-Finals[]
Hammerhead vs Botwork[]
- Bridget Maasland: "Hello. Hello. [pats the front of Hammerhead]"
- Hammerhead: "I love the taste of fresh metal!"
- Bridget Maasland: "He doesn't have very nice things to say."
- — One of the only conversations between a presenter and a robot on Robot Wars (Mech+ version)
Botwork takes out half of Hammerhead's drive with its first blow
Hammerhead in the pit
Botwork did not move at the start, as it got its disc up to speed, and Hammerhead drove towards its opponent, getting its spinning hammers up to speed. As Hammerhead closed in, Bo twork turned around, hitting the wheel of Hammerhead a couple of times. Hammerhead also landed a blow on the side of Botwork with its spinning hammers, then reversed and Botwork turned away. However, Hammerhead was only moving on one wheel, rocking back and forth. Botwork drove around and hit the wheel of Hammerhead again, before grinding against the wheel with its disc.
- "I'm in love with Matilda. The way she hacks them up. [performs a chopping gesture] And how she makes the hammer fly."
- — Rob Kamphues (Mech+ subtitles)
With Hammerhead immobile, Refbot began to count it out, with Botwork driving into it again as it was counted out. Matilda charged out of her CPZ in reverse, hitting Hammerhead with her flywheel, causing a gash in the side with her first charge, before reversing into Hammerhead again, ripping the back panel loose. The pit was opened, and Sgt. Bash pushed Hammerhead onto the flipper, where it was thrown across the arena. Matilda was waiting for it on the other side of the arena, and reversed it to the edge of the pit, before giving it a final push to finish it off.
- "Hammerhead didn’t do much hammering!"
- — Eric Corton (BNN broadcast, translated from Dutch)
Winner: Botwork
X-Bot vs Pika 2[]
- Bridget Maasland: "You really think this is gonna boost your luck?"
- Jeroen van Lieverloo: "I hope so. I got a lot of the other teams to sign it, so they’ll all be thinking of me!"
- Bridget Maasland: "But do they think you’ll win?"
- Jeroen van Lieverloo: "...No, that’s probably why so many of them wished me luck…"
- — Interview with Bridget Maasland and Team Tie-Rip (translated from Dutch)
X-Bot drives under Pika 2's wheel
Pika 2 and X-Bot fighting near the pit
Both robots started by charging at each other, but despite Pika 2 driving onto the lifter, neither robot could push the other, so Pika 2 turned and drove away. Pika 2 got its disc up to speed and drove down the arena, but as X-Bot drove after it, Pika 2 drove to the side of X-Bot. As X-Bot turned around, Pika 2 drove under the back of X-Bot and began pushing. X-Bot briefly got off the wedge of Pika 2, but Pika 2 kept chasing after it, and pushed it to the edge of the flame pit. X-Bot tried to get away, but turned onto the flame pit. Pika 2 reversed, and X-Bot got off the flame pit, and the two robots fought close to Sir Killalot's CPZ. Pika 2 pushed X-Bot, but Sir Killalot left his CPZ and got his claw between the two robots, so Pika 2 reversed up the arena. X-Bot opened the pit, and got under the side of Pika 2, pushing it towards the pit, but Pika 2 turned away off the lifter as they got close to the pit.
Pika 2 splits through X-Bot's lifter
Before X-Bot could get away from the pit, Pika 2 drove around and got behind X-Bot, but X-Bot drove away before Pika 2 could push it, so Pika 2 reversed. Pika 2 turned around and drove at the front of X-Bot, getting its spikes under the front wedge and pushing it to the edge of the pit, but couldn't push X-Bot down, so reversed again. As Pika 2 drove back at X-Bot, X-Bot turned around and drove away from the pit. Pika 2 drove after it, driving around to the front of X-Bot as it tried to get away, and this time it managed to get its wedge under X-Bot's lifter, knocking one of the panels loose on the lifter. Pika 2 pushed X-Bot onto the flame pit, and time ran out. The battle went to the Judges, and Pika 2 was awarded the victory.
Winner: Pika 2
Final[]
Botwork vs Pika 2[]
- "Botwork has a rotating disc, Pika II has a rotating disc, but Pika II is shaped slightly differently, and that might just be an advantage."
- — Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)
Pika 2 pushes Botwork in the early stages
Botwork buckles the right wheel cover of Pika 2
Pika 2 had the quicker start, driving across the arena as Botwork waited, but as Pika 2 got close, Botwork drove forwards, driving to the arena centre. Both robots turned to face each other, but Pika 2 drove to the side of Botwork and pushed it, but couldn't push it very far, so reversed for another charge. Pika 2 pushed Botwork to the top of the arena, and as Botwork turned straight into the wall, causing sparks with its discs, Pika 2 reversed. Botwork got away from the wall and drove the arena towards Pika 2. Pika 2 turned, but this exposed its wheel, and Botwork landed a blow on the side, which reduced Pika 2's mobility on one side. As Pika 2 limped, Botwork hit the side but did no damage, and Pika 2 hit the pit release button. Pika 2 reversed towards its opponent, before stopping, and Botwork drove into the back, hitting the other wheel. Pika 2 was left immobile by Sgt. Bash's CPZ, and Botwork hit the wheel, ripping off a wheelguard. Pika 2 limped away from Sgt. Bash, but Botwork rushed in and hit the wheel again.
- "Oh, how terrible I find this, that little one on the controls is seeing his father’s work die in the flames! Such DRAMA!"
- — Eric Corton (translated from Dutch)
Botwork gives chase to Pika 2
Pika 2 burns on the Flame Pit
Pika 2 reversed straight onto the flame pit, and struggled to get off, burning the Pikachu toy in the process. Refbot pushed it off, but one of Pika 2's tyres was now deflated. It made one last drive at Botwork's side, but couldn't push it at all. Pika 2 hobbled back and forth, one of its wheels spinning around in the deflated and torn tyre, and Botwork landed a couple of glancing blows until time ran out. The battle went to the judges, but Botwork was the clear winner.
- Rob Kamphues: "That was a tough fight, huh?"
- Leyton Rowley: "Absolutely. The hardest one so far. We knew that that [wheels] were its weak point, because we saw the guys working on them all morning."
- — Post-match interview with Rob Kamphues as Botwork reaches the Grand Final (translated from Dutch)
Heat Winner: Botwork
Trivia[]
- This Heat was the second consecutive episode from this series where a robot was forced to withdraw from the Losers' Melee, due to technical issues prior to the battle.
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