Cyclone (Extreme Warriors)

This article is about the Extreme Warriors competitor. For other uses, see Cyclone (disambiguation).

Cyclone
Participation Information
US Season	1-2
Other Names	Cyclone Raptor (Season 2) Cyclone 2 (Season 2)
Team Information
Team	Team Cyclone
Team Members	Chris Harriman Robert 'Bob' Pitzer Patrick Kivin
From	Tuscan, Arizona
Robot Statistics
Weight	217lbs
Dimensions	30" x 51" x 32"
Power	2 x electric motors
Weapons	Vertical Spinning Disk
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"...We won a hard fought series, drank a lot of beer and had a really good time with all our Robot Wars friends. Given the opportunity, we wouldn't hesitate to do it again."

— Rob Pitzer

Cyclone was the name given to a pair of competitor robots built by Team Raptor (competing under the name Team Cyclone) which fought in both seasons of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. Both were equipped with powerful vertical spinning flywheels, but endured limited success in the main US Championship, being eliminated in the heats of each season. The Season 2 build, Cyclone 2, redeemed itself spectacularly in that season's Annihilator, winning outright and throwing two opponents out of the arena in the process - the first heavyweight competitor to do so with a spinning weapon.

When Cyclone became too badly damaged following the Season 1 US Championship, driver Chris Harriman fought in that season's Robot Rebellion and Tag Team Terror competitions with the loanerbot Tut Tut, which won the latter alongside Drillzilla. Team Raptor also fought with Rippa Raptor in the Season 1 Annihilator, notably finishing runner-up to Drillzilla.

Versions of Cyclone

Cyclone

Cyclone in Season 1

The original Cyclone was reminiscent of BattleBots competitor Nightmare, with a reverse wedge-shaped chassis, two-wheel drive and a large two-toothed vertical spinning disk as its weapon. The disk was capable of cutting through opponents or throwing them over, although Cyclone itself proved unreliable and somewhat unstable.

Cyclone 2

Cyclone 2 in the arena

Cyclone 2, (also known as Cyclone Raptor and simply referred to as Cyclone on television), exchanged its reverse-wedge shape for a wider, boxier chassis, using 'Magnet Super Motors' and tracks for locomotion to counteract the gyroscopic forces of its 'hyper-alloy' disk. The disk now featured four hardened teeth and spun at 700rpm through its 12hp motor, with the capacity to flip, damage, immobilize and eject opponents from the arena. The Team Raptor website stated that Cyclone 2 shared similar 'drive characteristics' to its sister heavyweight machine Tripulta Raptor, which also used a tracked system in its second incarnation. While destructive, Cyclone 2 suffered from a low top speed, was flammable, and had a removable link which could easily be knocked out by head-on collisions.

Cyclone 2 in The Pits

"Cyclone had a nice mix of looks and effectiveness, but it was slow. If we build another for a Future Wars, it will have a much more effective drive train to better power the beast around the arena."

— Rob Pitzer

The design of this incarnation later inspired Adam Clark to build his UK Series 6 entry, 259.

Robot History

Season 1

Rebecca Grant: "And we have Cyclone, who forgot all their stuff today! Where is it?"

Chris Harriman: "It all got blown away by Cyclone!"

Rebecca Grant: "Because it's just that fast?"

Chris Harriman: "Yeah, it's incredibly fast! The blade is designed to tear through the competition!"

— Cyclone's pre-Heat interview

Cyclone made its first appearance in the Extreme Warriors Season 1 US Championship, competing in Heat 4. There, it faced General Chompsalot, Run Away, Spartacus, Drillzilla and Panzer Mk 2.

Cyclone tears into Run Away

Cyclone is rammed by the darting Panzer Mk 2

It immediately backed away before cutting through Run Away's front wedge, only to be lifted and pushed against the wall by Panzer Mk 2. This stopped Cyclone's disk and immobilized it completely, before General Chompsalot grabbed its disk with its jaws and rammed it into the wall at high speed.

"Cyclone with that big wheel, looks like the wheel of misfortune right now!"

— Stefan Frank as Cyclone is quickly immobilized

General Chompsalot slams the immobile Cyclone into the side wall

After being overturned at some point towards the end of the battle, Cyclone was eliminated early on from the US Championship. The damage inflicted to it was so severe that it was unable to participate in any other competitions later on in the Season 1 filming schedule. As a result, Chris Harriman entered the later Robot Rebellion and Tag Team Terror events with the loanerbot Tut Tut, though these were both aired before Cyclone's televised debut.

Season 2

"Giant 12 horsepower motor, giant spinning disk, equals mass destruction for any robot it comes in contact with."

— Chris Harriman introduces Cyclone 2 in the Season 2 Annihilator

A significantly revised Cyclone 2 returned for Season 2, again primarily competing in the US Championship. Appearing in Heat A, it faced the medically-themed newcomers Probophobia and Spin Doctor in its first-round battle, the latter from Team LOGICOM. The day before this battle was filmed, its flywheel had impressed Mick Foley, who later confirmed that the weapon had destroyed a number of wooden pallets during testing.

"Our big blade with cyclonic action should take 'em out!"

— Chris Harriman expresses confidence in Cyclone 2's destructive capability

Cyclone 2 is overturned by Probophobia

Dead Metal pits Cyclone 2

Cyclone 2 shuffled back and forth as Probophobia approached it, before hitting Probophobia's forks with the disk. This impact knocked Cyclone 2 back and dislodged its removable link, which fell out completely as Probophobia turned it over.

"...and look at Cyclone, upside down and dead to the world!"

— Stefan Frank as Cyclone 2 is counted out

Inverted and immobile, Cyclone 2 was counted out by Refbot as its opponents fought each other, before Dead Metal grabbed and dragged it onto the Floor Flipper. Cyclone 2 was then thrown back upright before being pitted, confirming its elimination from the US Championship. After graciously shaking the hands of both his rival team captains, Chris Harriman admitted to Carol Grow that the link's removal was a 'very frustrating' outcome for Team Cyclone.

"Cyclone, the one-hit wonder - you hit him once, then you wonder what the heck happened!"

— Mick Foley comments on Cyclone's near-instantaneous immobilization

Looking to make amends for its early loss, Cyclone 2 also competed in the Annihilator, alongside Brute, The Termite, Revenge, Thor's Hammer and Hyperactive.

"Cyclone in at 217lbs, didn't have such a great regular season. So they definitely got something to prove today, with their vertical spinning disk."

— Stefan Frank introduces Cyclone 2 in the Season 2 Annihilator

Cyclone 2 tosses Thor's Hammer out of the arena

In the first round, it was slow to move off from its starting position, and largely stayed out of the action until it hit Thor's Hammer, sending it rolling towards an entry gate. Another couple of hits from Cyclone 2's disk flipped Thor's Hammer back upright and over the wall, eliminating the middleweight machine, before Cyclone 2 tore through Revenge's drum just as 'Cease' was called.

"...it was Cyclone's time to demonstrate their disk prowess, and they surely did..."

— Stefan Frank, over highlights of Cyclone 2's Round 1 performance

Cyclone 2 dismantles the rival flywheel of Hyperactive

In pursuit of Hyperactive, Cyclone 2 flips Brute

In the second round, Cyclone 2 again started slowly, shuffling back and forth towards the center before spinning around with The Termite in close range. It proceeded to reverse away from an approaching Hyperactive, only for its disk to buffet the latter and cause severe damage to its opponent's own spinning weapon mechanism. Both Hyperactive's disk and its drive chain were ripped off their mounts, rendering it weaponless.

"...and there's Cyclone and Hyperactive fighting it out, and wow! Cyclone just dismantled Hyperactive! Look at that! Two spinnin' disks, but the double-thickness won through..."

— Stefan Frank, as Cyclone 2 dismantles Hyperactive's spinning weapon in Round 2

Cyclone 2 throws the remains of Hyperactive over the wall

Cyclone 2 next tore pieces of Hyperactive's back armor off as it attempted to attack Revenge and The Termite, before trying to chase it across the arena, flipping Brute over in the process. Cyclone 2 tore another piece from Hyperactive before flipping it against the wall and slamming into it a few more times. Eventually, it succeeded in flipping Hyperactive out of the arena, the disk clipping and damaging the side wall in its forward charge. Cyclone 2 progressed to the third round as a result of its dominant performance, suffering only light scratches to its disk and weapon mount as observed by Chris Harriman.

"Now that was impressive. The Cyclone is mean! The Cyclone took Hyperactive and made it very inactive on our arena floor for the second time, in as many attempts!"

— Mick Foley summarizes Cyclone 2's Round 2 showing

Cyclone 2 rips a wheel from The Termite

There, Cyclone 2 started even more tentatively, initially chasing after Revenge before driving towards the battling Brute and The Termite. It was briefly pushed back by Revenge and rammed from the rear by The Termite; upon retreating and turning around for an assault, it clipped The Termite and Brute in rapid succession, hurling the latter across the arena. More quick blows on The Termite ripped one of the blue and red machine's wheels off its mount. In doing so, however, Cyclone 2 drove over a flame jet, after which it caught fire and lost power to its disk.

"Cyclone is the one to beat... or are they? There was a lot of smoke comin' off of him, and look, he's got a fire inside! Oh, runnin' over that flame wasn't too good for them! These guys could be in some serious trouble..."

— Stefan Frank notices the internal fire developing in Cyclone 2

Cyclone 2 catches fire

With flames coming out of its rear armor, Cyclone 2 limped across the arena onto a CO₂ jet, successfully extinguishing the internal fire. It spent the rest of the battle lingering near the entrance gates, although not without being rammed by Brute and engaging in a shoving match with Revenge. Cyclone 2, nevertheless, survived to the next round, once Brute pushed the three-wheeled Termite into the pit.

"The Cyclone's blade stops turning, but its hopes are still alive..."

— Mick Foley calls the end of the third round

Cyclone 2 sends Revenge flying

In the fourth round, Cyclone 2 immediately approached Revenge, Stefan Frank observing a small 'wobble' with its newly-repaired disk. It survived both of Revenge's swinging slams before buffeting it onto the pit panel, just as the hazard had been activated by Brute. Cyclone 2 continued to chase, hit and flip Revenge multiple times into Sgt. Bash, the attacks resulting in Revenge becoming immobilized. However, it was rammed and pushed disk-first into the CPZ by Brute, though Cyclone 2 quickly reversed out before again clipping the back of Revenge and flicking it sideways.

Cyclone 2 and Brute briefly nudged each other before retreating and settling on opposite sides of the arena center, while Revenge was attacked by the House Robots and counted out. With Revenge being dragged to the Floor Flipper by Dead Metal, thrown across the arena and pitted, Cyclone 2 and Brute became the last two competitors standing.

"Will Cyclone blow right by Brute, and into the winner's circle, or will Brute find the strength to stop the Cyclone?"

— Mick Foley prior to the Annihilator final

Brute pushes Cyclone 2 against the arena wall

In the Final, both robots immediately hit each other, with Cyclone 2 flicking Brute up and hitting its opponent's drum, and Brute responding by shoving Cyclone 2 into an angle grinder. The collisions resulted in a weapon chain being torn and ejected from Cyclone 2, but not to its detriment as the disk kept spinning and the machine freed itself from the grinder to hit Brute again. Cyclone 2 gave chase once more across the perimeter of Sgt. Bash's CPZ, causing further damage to Brute's drum and front-right corner with successive hits. The last hit stopped Cyclone 2's disk from spinning, although the robot as a whole kept following Brute around as it drove into Sgt. Bash and Shunt's CPZs.

As the two competitors closed in on each other, the disk of Cyclone 2 lifted it up over Brute's front-left tire, effectively allowing Brute to get underneath, turn and pressure it into Shunt. Cyclone 2 sustained an axe blow from the House Robot which almost resulted in it being dragged into the CPZ by its right track. Fortunately, no major damage was inflicted, and Cyclone 2 escaped while nudging and briefly following Brute around once again. Cyclone 2 eventually headed across the other side of the arena to press the pit trigger, by which time Brute had again been cornered and was immobilized by Sgt. Bash's pincers. As the Team Vicious machine was counted out and pitted by Shunt, Cyclone 2 emerged as the Season 2 Annihilator Champion, though Chris Harriman later admitted that Brute was a 'tough' opponent for his team's machine to defeat.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 5
• Losses: 2

Series Record

US Series	Cyclone Series Record
Season 1	Heat (Round 1) Entered with Tut Tut
Season 2	Heat, Round 1
Nickelodeon	Did not enter

NOTE: The team initially planned to enter Tripulta into Season 2 before eventually entering with Cyclone

Gallery

Cyclone 2 image from the Team Raptor website

Cyclone 2 in The Pits

Cyclone 2 with its Annihilator belt

Cyclone 2's specifications

Trivia

• Cyclone 2 was the only US Series competitor robot to throw another out of the arena, flipping Thor's Hammer and Hyperactive out in the Season 2 Annihilator.
  • It was also the only robot to throw another out of the arena during an Annihilator, doing so in the first two rounds.
• Cyclone was the inspiration for the UK Series 6 competitor 259.
• Cyclone 2 was one of four Annihilator champions to have never progressed beyond the first round in a domestic championship. The others were Spikasaurus, Drillzilla and Kan-Opener.
• Cyclone 2 made brief cameo appearances in Episode 5 of Nickelodeon Robot Wars, appearing in the team interview for Rigby and Team Chippermonkey, and in Extreme: Series 1/Episode 4 where it can be seen in the far background when Julia Reed goes up to talk to team Dominator 2.

External Links

• Team Raptor's website (archived)