Fighting Torque

Fighting Torque
The second Fighting Torque, also known as Hippobotomus
Participation Information
UK Series	5, Extreme 1
Other Names	Hippobotomus (Series 5)
Team Information
Team	Team Torque
Team Members	Richie McBride Alex McBride Ellen McBride Martyn Sloss (Mayhem only)
Robot Statistics
Weight	99kg
Dimensions	0.42m x 1.75m x 0.83m
Top Speed	16mph
Power	2 x 750V electric motors
Weapons	10kg spinning disc on crushing arm & lifting head
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"A modification of Small Torque and All Torque from the past, has a spinning disc, is the lightest but quickest here, now that is fighting talk!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces the original Fighting Torque

Fighting Torque was the name given to two separate robots entered by Team Torque in Extreme Series 1. It competed in the Mayhem but was defeated by Atomic 2. However, Atomic's withdrawal allowed Fighting Torque to re-enter the competition, but the team entered its Series 5 robot under the same name in the Annihilator.

The team also entered the second version of the robot in Series 5, under its originally intended name of Hippobotomus, taken from the robot's obvious resemblance to a hippopotamus. The robot fared just as poorly in this series as it had in the Annihilator, losing in the first round to Stinger.

The Hippobotomus robot did not involve original Team Torque captain Martyn Sloss, who only fought with the original Fighting Torque. Instead, the McBride and Sloss families diverged to enter Series 5 separately, with the Sloss family entering Bot Out Of Hell.

Both Hippobotomus and Fighting Torque continued the Team Torque pun names, being puns on hippopotamus and fighting talk respectively.

Versions of Fighting Torque

Fighting Torque

The original Fighting Torque

The original design of Fighting Torque was a pyramid-shaped robot wearing a kilt with a spinning disc on a moving arm as its weapon. A skull decorated the top of the robot. Fighting Torque had an extremely high centre of gravity, which caused it to topple over easily. Cartoon buttocks were hidden underneath the robot's kilt.

Hippobotomus

Richie McBride and his children with Hippobotomus

This robot was in the shape of a yellow hippopotamus and retained the cutting disc on moving arm weaponry of the original robot but was much less hardy. It was made mostly from salvaged parts; its shell was a plastic hippo sand pit, and its wheels came off a skateboard. This robot had a 2cm ground clearance and looked quite fragile, and performed poorly, losing in the first round of the Annihilator.

Qualification

Hippobotomus fought at the Glasgow leg of the Series 5 qualification tour. In combat, it fought Corkscrew, which was not permitted to use its spinning body, but Hippobotomus still lost the battle. It received a discretionary place in the Fifth Wars regardless.

Robot History

Extreme 1

Fighting Torque's secret is exposed

Fighting Torque is toppled

Fighting Torque entered a Mayhem battle in the first series of Extreme. It was drawn against Atomic 2 and Mousetrap 2. Atomic dominated the fight, it immediately flipped Mousetrap a few times and then flipped Fighting Torque. Atomic flipped both robots around the arena repeatedly. Mousetrap couldn't self-right and so was counted out, whilst Fighting Torque still tried to attack Atomic. Fighting Torque was flipped again, counted out and placed on the arena floor flipper. Fighting Torque was sprung up in the air and landed on its wheels, but was flipped again and left to burn on the flame pit.

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

Due to Atomic taking tremendous damage from Hypno-Disc in its Heat in Series 5, it was forced to withdraw from the Annihilator and Fighting Torque was reinstated. However the team used their Series 5 robot, Hippobotomus, renamed Fighting Torque. The first round started brutally with all the robots charging into to each other. Fighting Torque sustained damage to its top armour. Napalm had been bashed and picked up by Sir Killalot. Disc-O-Inferno then ripped Fighting Torque to pieces and Fighting Torque was counted out.

Series 5

"Hippobotomus, made out of a child's sandpit essentially, but this is Robot Wars, and we've seen giant upsets in the past"

— Jonathan Pearce

Hippobotomus takes a hit from Stinger

Dead Metal cuts into the sandpit

Hippobotomus fought against fifth seeds Stinger in its opening battle. Its plastic armour was no match for Stinger's powerful mace, which pounded Hippobotomus repeatedly until the Hippo's plastic construction fell apart. Dead Metal then sliced through Hippobotomus' cover, but the fight went to the judges after Stinger drove into a CPZ; Stinger went through. After the fight, Ellen McBride was very distraught about the grievous amount of damage caused to her team's robot. The crowd booed Team Stinger for making a little girl cry, so they made it up to her by giving her a cardboard prototype of Stinger's weapon, which the distraught Ellie used to prod Team Stinger.

Craig Charles: "You're (Stinger) seeded 5, which is a very high seeding, and, to be seeded 5 and then nearly come unstuck, by a children's sandpit"

Tim Mann: "It's a bloody good sandpit."

Craig Charles: "It's not a bad sandpit is it?"

— Team Stinger on Hippobotomus in the post match interview

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 3

Series Record

Main Series	Fighting Torque Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Entered with All Torque
The Third Wars	Entered with All Torque
The Fourth Wars	Entered with Small Torque
The Fifth Wars	Heat, Round 1 with Hippobotomus Entered with Bot Out Of Hell (Sloss)
The Sixth Wars	Did not enter
The Seventh Wars	Did not enter
Series 8	Did not enter
Series 9	Did not enter
Series 10	Entered with Fighting Torque and Hippobotomus
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Did not enter
Series 2	Did not enter

Trivia

• Fighting Torque is one of only nine robots to début in Extreme 1 and to fight in one of the main competitions. The others were 3 Stegs to Heaven, Axe-Awe, Comengetorix, Fluffy, NEAT Machine, Spawn Again, Sub-Version and The Executioner. However, its début was in a different model and name to the robot that fought in Series 5.
• Fighting Torque was the tallest competitor in Extreme at 1.75m.
• Fighting Torque and Terror Australis are the only occasions of two robots entering the same Wars under the same name.