Robot Wars: The Second Wars - Heat L
The Robot Wars Logo from the introduction titles
Series	The Second Wars
Winner(s)	Haardvark
Trial	Sumo
First Broadcast	February 5th 1999
Original channel	BBC Two
Preceded by	Heat K
Succeeded by	Semi-Final 1

Heat L of Robot Wars: The Second Wars was the twelfth and final heat which determined the Semi-Finalists of Robot Wars: The Second Wars. The episode featuring Heat L was originally broadcast on February 5, 1999 on BBC Two.

• Every robot in this heat used a pair of 12V batteries as the powering system.
• This was the only heat of Series 2, and indeed the only heat outside Series 1, to comprise entirely of newcomers.
• No robot in this heat ever achieved additional success. Angel of Death and Tender Caress were retired after this, and the four that returned all fell in Round 1 in the next wars. Beyond that, only Team Vercingetorix continued to fight, with only three battle victories to its name.

Competing Robots

Newcomers

Angel of Death	Specifications
	Weight: 77.8kg
	Dimensions: 1.1 x 0.9 x 0.22m
	Speed: 4mph
	Turning Circle 0m
	Ground Clearance: 2mm
	Power: 2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons: Front and rear circular saws
	Notes: Built over 2-3 months. Cost £250. Powered by Volvo windscreen wipers
From: Bristol Team Members: Dan McGrath & Nathan Green

Flirty Skirty	Specifications
	Weight: 79.5kg
	Dimensions: 1.05 x 1.05 x 0.5m
	Speed: 2mph
	Turning Circle 0m
	Ground Clearance: 3mm
	Power: 2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons: Pneumatic lifting skirts and spikes
	Notes: Circuit boards designed by Stafford College. HGV lorry air tanks
From: Baswick in Staffordshire Team Members: Richard Peter, Victor Peter & Albert Peter

Haardvark	Specifications
	Weight: 79.8kg
	Dimensions: 1.5 x 0.85 x 0.4m
	Speed: 12mph
	Turning Circle 0m
	Ground Clearance: 10mm
	Power: 2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons: Lifting forks and circular saw on arm (removed to meet weight restrictions)
	Notes: Chassis strengthened with strip steel and aluminium beams
From: Cannock in Staffordshire Team Members: Owen Barwick, Liz Harrison & Mike Evans

Havoc	Specifications
	Weight: 77.3kg
	Dimensions: 1.3 x 0.72 x 0.4m
	Speed: 6mph
	Turning Circle 0m
	Ground Clearance: 50mm
	Power: 2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons: Zinc mace and lifting jack
	Notes: Weapons salvaged from a car jack and powered by windscreen wiper
From: Burnley Team Members: Kevin Shirtcliffe, John Robinson & Philip Robinson

Tender Caress	Specifications
	Weight: 78.7kg
	Dimensions: 1.2 x 0.8 x 0.4m
	Speed: 15mph
	Turning Circle 0.6m
	Ground Clearance: 38mm
	Power: 2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons: Spikes, circular saw and 1000RPM angle grinder
	Notes: Custom built electronics. Aluminium shell with stainless steel mesh
From: Redford in Surrey Team Members: Phil Thomas, Rik Allen, Andrew Berridge & Duncan McPherson

Vercingetorix	Specifications
	Weight: 77.9kg
	Dimensions: 1.2 x 0.72 x 0.38m
	Speed: 9mph
	Turning Circle 0m
	Ground Clearance: 3-25mm (Variable)
	Power: 2 x 12V batteries
	Weapons: Pneumatic flipper and side rams
	Notes: Adjustable outer shell for ground clearance. 24V wheelchair motors
From: Isle of Wight Team Members: Ian Gear, Alistair Curtis-Horsefall & Nigel Radestock

Gauntlet

Competitor runs

Left route: The Sentinel,Dead Metal and one pit. Centre route: Spikes, see-saw, and Sir Killalot Right route: Ramrig, flame pit, pendulum and Sergeant Bash. Competing order: 1. Haardvark 2. Vercingetorix 3. Tender Caress 4. Havoc 5. Flirty Skirty 6. Angel of Death
Ranking	Competing Robot		Report	Distance
1		Haardvark	Haardvark's speed and manoeuvrability helped it to easily clear The Sentinel, but Dead Metal was also blocking the route, and quickly backed Haardvark into the pit.	10.6m
2		Flirty Skirty	With a top speed of just 2mph, Flirty Skirty made slow progress through the early part of the gauntlet, encountering problems on the spikes. Flirty Skirty almost passed The Sentinel on its first attempt, but was stopped just inches away from passing The Sentinel. The Sentinel then inadvertently pushed Flirty Skirty past, but trapped Flirty Skirty between itself and the pit. Sir Killalot then picked up Flirty Skirty and pitted it.	10.40m
3		Havoc	Havoc's initial run lasted seconds, after a loose wire caused one motor to not function. Luckily, this problem was located and solved in time for another run to be permitted. Havoc chose to attack the Sentinel's route, but, after nearly clearing the Sentinel, ran into Dead Metal, who span it around. Havoc attempted to pass the Sentinel again, but now the broken down Dead Metal was in the way, and time had run out.	8.2m
4		Vercingetorix	Vercingetorix approached The Sentinel and was quickly pinned in by the Sentinel. One of the Sentinel's spikes had broken, however, so Vercingetorix escaped, however this was short lived as Dead Metal once again stopped any progress being made, and caused minor damage to the top of Vercingetorix.	5.1m
5		Tender Caress	After a bumbling start, Tender Caress opted for the ramrig route, where it became stuck on the side of the ramrig. Tender Caress was eventually freed, but by this time Dead Metal had moved into position and attacked Tender Caress from behind, with Sergeant Bash blocking the exit. According to the Tender Caress team, their robot had caused substantial damage to spikes on the ramrig itself during its run.	5.0m
6		Angel of Death	Its low ground clearance and lack of power immediately gave it problems as it steered onto the ram rig and was unable to break free. The House Robots moved in but couldn't damage it due to its low centre of gravity.	2.9m
Eliminated: Angel of Death

Trial (Sumo)

Competing order: 1. Tender Caress 2. Flirty Skirty 3. Vercingetorix 4. Havoc 5. Haardvark
Ranking	Competing Robot		Report	Result
1		Vercingetorix	The two robots met in the centre of the arena, and then jockeyed around each other for position. Dead Metal eventually got around the sides and pushed Vercingetorix to the edge of the arena, choosing to attack with the disc than release its grip, so somewhat luckily Vercingetorix survived until the end.	Survived
2		Haardvark	Even before its sumo run began, Haardvark was in problems, a wiring glitch limiting movement only to forwards and backwards. Luckily in such a trial as the sumo, this was no real hindrance. Haardvark initially made some strong pushes, very nearly forcing Dead Metal off the podium, however Dead Metal lured them by loitering near the edge, spun around and pushed Haardvark towards the edge, before finally pushing Haardvark off in a suicide leap. "Kamikaze from the Sumo Warrior" — Jonathan Pearce as Dead Metal falls off the podium with Haardvark	17.60 seconds
3		Havoc	The team initially dodged Dead Metal, but a lapse in concentration allowed Dead Metal to attack and push Havoc almost totally off the ring within five seconds. Luckily for Havoc, Dead Metal was unable to gain sufficient traction to push Havoc off the ring, and so took another charge, this time succeeding in disposing of Havoc.	14.15 seconds
4		Flirty Skirty	The team had attached spikes to the skirts prior to going in, which allowed them to dig into the sumo ring floor. Nevertheless, Dead Metal pushed Flirty Skirty all the way to the edge of the ring, and took a run up for a second charge. Luckily, Dead Metal slowed part way through the charge, allowing enough time to elapse for Flirty Skirty to survive; however this did not stop Dead Metal disposing of Flirty Skirty very quickly.	10.63 seconds
5		Tender Caress	Despite the teams confidence Dead Metal rammed it once, which trapped it on the edge and hit it again sending it out of the sumo ring.	6.03 seconds
Eliminated: Tender Caress

Arena

Semi-Finals

Haardvark vs. Vercingetorix

The two robots came together, Haardvark pushing against Vercingetorix, who appeared to have slowed. After this initial shove, there was no life from Vercingetorix, and it was repeatedly slammed by Haardvark. Haardvark then pushed Vercingetorix into the PPZ, where it was axed by Shunt. With the help of SIr Killalot, Shunt pushed Vercingetorix onto the flame pit. Sir Killalot then plucked up the lifeless Vercingetorix and pitted it.

Winner: Haardvark

Havoc vs. Flirty Skirty

Havoc immediately collided with the much slower Flirty Skirty, and then attempted to use the lifting ram, but to no avail. Havoc then pushed once more, this time into the PPZ where Killalot trapped Flirty Skirty, and hen began to dismember the shell.

Killalot lifted Flirty Skirty, and then removed the shell, exposing the mechanics. Eventually the shell fell off altogether and Killalot dragged the remains over to the flame pit, arriving just as cease was called.

Winner: Havoc

Final

Haardvark vs. Havoc

The two robots spun around each other once, before colliding twice. Haardvark pushed Havoc towards the PPZ, but Havoc deflected the attack, and as a result Haardvark found itself in the PPZ, and under attack from Matilda. Spinning away, Haardvark again shoved Havoc, eventually pushing it into Shunt in the PPZ. After axing it for a while, Shunt overturned Havoc, leaving Haardvark as the Heat Winners.

Heat Winner: Haardvark