- Not to be confused with fellow New Blood Championship competitor Niterider.
- "Has a mighty flipper, is stealthy under cover of darkness in the toolshed, but what happens in the flood-lit arena?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Night Raider was a robot that fought exclusively in the New Blood Championship of Series 2 of Robot Wars Extreme. It did not achieve great success, being eliminated in its only battle. The team also competed with B.O.D. in Series 7, which was also eliminated in the first round.
Design[]
- "Strong, with powerful weaponry at both front and back, a 200 kilo hoisting flipper and titanium spikes, it's fast enough to get out of any situation with top speeds of 18 miles an hour."
- — Jonathan Pearce sums up Night Raider
Night Raider was a large black wedge-shaped robot armed with a wide titanium flipper. The flipper was capable of lifting 200kg, and the robot had twin roll cages on the back wedge to allow it to self-right, similar in principle to the roll cages found on Spawn Again's Series 6-7 incarnations. For its time, Night Raider was extremely well armoured, coated entirely in titanium which stood up well to the attacks it received. Night Raider is stated to have had a high top speed of 18mph, though this could never be demonstrated in the arena as Night Raider entered its only fight with half of its drive system already broken.
The team admitted to being inexperienced and not as strong as flipping-wielding veterans like Chaos 2 and Bigger Brother.
- Philippa Forrester: "You're new to Robot Wars, but does it compare to them?"
- George Towell: "Not quite as good as them, I don't think really, no."
- Philippa Forrester: "So you've got a little way to go in the evolution process."
- — Pre-battle interview with Philippa Forrester
The Team[]
- "The three caught the Robot Wars bug around three years ago and have since spent lots of time - and plenty of money - getting their remote-controlled machine, Night Raider, ready for combat. George is the captain of the team, Mick spends hours and hours on the lathe and milling machine building the machine, and Trevor is the driver."
- — Barnoldswick & Earby Times on the Night Raider team
The team with Night Raider
Night Raider was entered by a team of work colleagues from Silentnight, who all worked in the maintenance department in Barnoldswick. The company supported the team, allowing them to use their facilities and donating money towards the build[1].
The team also entered Series 7 with B.O.D., though Mick Blackburn was no longer part of the team.
Qualification[]
Night Raider previously failed to qualify for the Sixth Wars, after it lost its qualifier against Derek 2 and Killer Carrot 2 after being immobilized by Killer Carrot 2[2].
- "The fight started badly, Night Raider got wedged in the pits, once under way we ripped it's battery lead off and that was the end of it."
- — Team Dangerous Vegetables website
It was selected for the New Blood Championship through open applications.
Robot History[]
Extreme Series 2[]
- Philippa Forrester: "Best of luck, I hope you get a chance at the evolution process!"
- George Towell: "So do we!"
- Philippa Forrester: "It could all end in tears very quickly!"
- — In the pre-battle interview with Philippa Forrester
In Heat B of the New Blood Championship, Night Raider was drawn against Thor and Hell's Teeth in its first-round melee. However, it struggled to move in a straight line and out of the CPZ in its opening battle, as a drive train had already broken.
The two opponents gang up on Night Raider
When the battle begun, Thor and Hell's Teeth both attacked Night Raider, but neither attack landed much damage. Night Raider was pushed against the side wall, but then pulled away and pushed Thor around. However, it took a direct blow from Thor which appeared to knock it out, before it was also bludgeoned by the hammer of Mr. Psycho. Night Raider was then counted out, thrown by the Floor Flipper and eliminated from the competition.
- "So; pinched, bashed, crashed, squashed, crushed, all of them! Thrown, flipped, I mean it was stupendous!"
- — Philippa Forrester describes the damage done to Night Raider using a series of verbs
Results[]
| NIGHT RAIDER - RESULTS | ||
| Extreme Series 2 | ||
| New Blood Championship Round 1 | ||
| Heat B, Round 1 | vs. Hell's Teeth, Thor | Eliminated |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
| Main Series | Night Raider 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 | Failed to qualify |
| The Seventh Wars | Entered with B.O.D. |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
| Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
| Series 1 | Did not enter |
| Series 2 | New Blood Championship, Round 1 |
Trivia[]
- Both Night Raider and the similarly named Niterider appeared in back-to-back episodes, and failed to leave their starting positions after losing drive on one side at the very beginning of the battle.
References[]
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