Trazmaniac was a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 2 of Dutch Robot Wars. It reached the second round in its heat after a convincing win over Tartarus, but lost to the eventual runner-up Philipper 2 on a jury's decision there. Team captain Chris Mennenga previously competed in Dutch Series 1 as part of Team Twisted Metal.
Design[]
Trazmaniac in the arena
Trazmaniac was an invertible, roughly box-shaped robot armed with two weapons - a front spinning drum lined with thin teeth, and a rear-mounted drill. The robot was painted silver with alternately coloured stripes along its body - blue on the top, and red on the bottom. Both of Trazmaniac's weapons were able to cause reasonable damage, but it mainly relied on its pushing power and speed in the two battles it fought in.
The Team[]
Trazmaniac was entered into Robot Wars by Team MnM, captained by Chris Mennenga, the lead builder of the robot. Ron Mennenga also helped to construct Trazmaniac, and operated the robot's weaponry in battle. Marco Schekkerman also completed the line-up of the Dutch team. The team wore blue jumpsuits at filming. Chris Mennenga had previously reached the Grand Final of Dutch Series 1 as part of the Twisted Metal team. The team closely associated with the Slamtilt team on their websites, as both were based in the province of Drenthe[1].
Qualification[]
Trazmaniac attended the in-person auditions for Dutch Series 2 and was selected to take part in the show as a result. The team chose not to attempt qualification for Series 7, citing the Dutch teams' need to cover their own travel expenses for a qualification opportunity that would not guarantee them a place on the show.
- "No, we're not going either. At your own expense to England and then also hope that you will be chosen no nothing for us."
- — Chris Mennenga on not applying for Series 7 (translated from Dutch)[2]
Robot History[]
Dutch Series 2[]
Trazmaniac competed in Heat B, and faced Tartarus in its first-round battle.
Trazmaniac uses its drill on Tartarus
It darted straight for Tartarus in the opening seconds, but missed, before slamming into Tartarus' side with its drum. Trazmaniac drove around Tartarus before hitting its back wedge, its drum blades briefly catching on one of the latter's claws. It then slammed into Tartarus' front, immobilising it, before using both of its weapons to cause more damage to Tartarus' side panels. Refbot counted Tartarus out as Trazmaniac speared through its side with the drill and pushed it onto the Flame Pit, much to the Tartarus team's despair, before Trazmaniac pressed the pit release button and pushed Tartarus away from Shunt as the latter attempted to pit it. Trazmaniac spent the remainder of the battle being chased around the arena by Sgt. Bash and dodging his flames, while Tartarus was finally pitted by Shunt.
In the second round, Trazmaniac faced Belgian competitor Philipper 2.
Trazmaniac is flipped onto its front by Philipper 2
Trazmaniac is lifted up again by Philipper 2
Both robots initially drove towards each other, with Trazmaniac dodging Philipper 2's flipper before pushing it back towards a flame jet. It escaped being flipped by Philipper 2 before running its drum up the latter's side and flipper, causing damage as it was flipped three times by Philipper 2. Trazmaniac's drill momentarily speared through Philipper 2's side as the two robots drove each other round in circles, before Trazmaniac slammed into Philipper 2 and pushed it around, only to be flipped away again. Another side slam saw Trazmaniac push Philipper 2 towards the Flame Pit, before it dodged another flip and locked together with the Belgian machine. Philipper 2 lifted Trazmaniac away, with Trazmaniac waiting for Philipper 2 to drive away from the wall before ramming, circling and stabbing its left-hand side with the drill.
Trazmaniac retaliates with its drill
Trazmaniac and Philipper 2 clash
Trazmaniac then pushed Philipper 2 around in circles in an attempt to get its drill to cause more damage, before dodging a few flips from Philipper 2 and slamming into it once again. Philipper 2 flipped Trazmaniac twice more as the battle drew to a close, with the two robots pushing each other round in circles just before 'cease' was called. The battle went to a judge's decision, which went in favour of Philipper 2, eliminating Trazmaniac from the second Dutch Series despite its strong performance.
Results[]
| TRAZMANIAC - RESULTS | ||
| Series 2 | ||
| Dutch Championship Heat Semi-Final | ||
| Heat B, Round 1 | vs. Tartarus | Won |
| Heat B, Semi-Final | vs. Philipper 2 | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 1
Series Record[]
| Dutch Series | Trazmaniac Series Record |
|---|---|
| Series 1 | Entered with Twisted Metal |
| Series 2 | Heat, Round 2 |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Trazmaniac fought in at least one Dutch Robot Games event in Leeuwarden, battling Meshuggah[3].
Trivia[]
- Both of Trazmaniac's opponents went on to compete in the UK series of Robot Wars. Notably, if Trazmaniac had defeated Philipper 2, then all of its subsequent potential opponents (Twister, Krab-Bot, Bamm Bamm and PulverizeR) were also UK series competitors.
References[]
External Links[]
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