- "We're Team Ming. We're here, fresh from the planet Mongo, ready to wreck havoc on any pathetic Earthlings who get in our way!"
- — Extreme 1 introduction
Team Ming was a family of roboteers that was one of the longest competing teams in Robot Wars. They competed in Series 3 with Ming, Series 4 with Ming 2, Series 5 and 6 (and the first series of Extreme) with Ming 3 and in Series 7 with Ming Dienasty and with a separate robot from the Ming series, Zorro, which competed in Series 7 alongside Ming Dienasty.
Team Ming with Zorro in Series 7
From Series 5/Extreme Series 1 onwards, Team Ming would dress themselves in outfits to match their robots; dressing like the character from Flash Gordon when competing with any of the Ming machines, and dressing like the robot's namesake when competing with Zorro.
Although the team competed in five series of the UK wars, they never even reached a Heat Final, and only passed the first round twice. However, Ming 3 did win the Nickelodeon Robot Wars US vs UK Tag Team Terror Tournament, alongside Rick.
In Series 7, Ming and Zorro were placed in specific heats that ensured they would not meet until the Grand Final. It would have been impossible for the two to be in the arena at the same time, as Andrew was the team's only driver. Team Vader and Team Mouse's robots were similaraly separated, however both of those teams possessed at least two drivers.
Robogeddon
In 2002, at the end of Extreme Series 2, Andrew Cotterell, along with Ian Lewis and Simon Scott came together to form a company called Robogeddon (No relation to the Series 3 competitor). They began manufacturing robot kits or RCVs (Radio Controlled Vehicles) as they call them. When assembled, the RCV is an 80kg box-shaped four-wheel-drive robot with a bumper all around it to absorb shocks. It also features a thin electric flipping arm. The kit as a whole is sold for 1825 GBP, but individual parts can be bought as well. In addition to selling kits, Robogeddon also offers pre-assembled RCVs that can be rented out for events and parties. Displaying corporate logos is not allowed on Robot Wars, so in order to promote his products during Series 7, Andrew Cotterell used RCVs as the bases for his two new robots, Zorro and Ming Dienasty, adding on a spinning blade to Zorro and drill to Ming Dienasty respectively. Though both robots performed poorly in the main competition, they helped give Robogeddon the exposure that Cotterell was seeking.
Outside Robot Wars
Andrew Cotterell appears on Watchdog
In 2012, team captain Andrew Cotterell appeared on the BBC One trading standards show Watchdog. The former driver of the Ming robots had been contacted by short-term loan provider Wonga.com requesting payments on loans taken out in his name, despite the fact that he had never heard about the company prior to receiving two letters from Wonga asking for over £400. It turned out that someone else had accessed Andrew's details and this fraudulent request had passed Wonga's security checks. Luckily when Andrew contacted Wonga over the error, they corrected the mistake. [1]
Robots
| Name | Weight Class | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Ming | Heavyweight | Series 3-7, Extreme 1, Nickelodeon |
| Zorro | Heavyweight | Series 7 |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 6
- Losses: 8
Series Record
- Series 1-2: Did not enter
- Series 3: Heat, Round 1 with Ming
- Series 4: Heat, Round 2 with Ming 2
- Series 5: Heat, Round 1 with Ming 3
- Series 6: Heat, Round 2 with Ming 3
- Series 7: Heat, Round 1 with Ming Dienasty and Zorro