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"Battery powered, the main weapon is its wedge shape, the boys from Hagley don't mean to "haggle" here. They want a quick, early, decisive victory!"
Jonathan Pearce introduces Sonic

Sonic was a competitor robot which fought in the third series of Robot Wars. It was the third robot to be entered by Team Power, reaching the second round before being eliminated by future double UK champion Chaos 2.

Design[]

"We have decided to retire BARRY and use his parts to build a lighter robot - SONIC. We would have liked to have had a chance to try BARRY as we feel the design was right but he was a little over weight, 40 kgs over weight! We have designed SONIC to use the running gear from BARRY but with a lighter Space Frame chassis. SONIC will have a weapon if we can fit it in under the weight limit. Most of the parts for our robots are donated, for which we are very grateful. The problem is that the weight is to some extent out of our control. We may have to run without a weapon if the weight is approaching 80 Kgs."
— Team Power website on Sonic[1]
Sonic r1 arena

Sonic in Round 1

Sonic was a two-wheeled robot with a snowplough-like front wedge and a series of front ramming spikes as its weapons. A couple of extra weapons were made in the early design stage, including a front-mounted spear and a rear hanging hook, but these were removed as not to exceed the weight limit. It was constructed from a lightweight tubular steel spaceframe chassis and reused the wheels, batteries and motors from Team Power's Series 1 entry, Barry; the team considered Barry too heavy for the Series 3 heavyweight limit.

The robot had two 12V, 27Ah batteries, each powered by a 24V, 350W motor, giving a top speed of 30mph. The armour was plate aluminium, and the robot had 14" x 6.5" pneumatic tyres[2]. Sonic cost £500 to build, as most of the parts were donated, reused or supplied by the team's sponsors. For example, the robot had two 4QD speed controllers, of the NCC-50A-24V model, which were provided by 4QD.

Sonic's main offensive features were its speed and pushing power. Initially, it also had a hook hanging off the back of the robot, which fell off in its Round 1 battle, and was not reattached. A ramming blade was added to the front for Round 2, welded on by Ciarán Byrne.[3] Pieces of Team Nemesis' polka-dot fur were used to decorate the otherwise grey and red machine, as did a pair of 'eyes' forming a face at the front. The back of Sonic originally had a bar to prevent it from performing wheelies, but this was removed for that stage as well. Sonic proved to be fast and relatively powerful, but it had a high ground clearance and did not have any form of self-righting mechanism, which contributed to its defeat against Chaos 2.

Etymology[]

Sonic was presumably named after Sonic the Hedgehog, the protagonist of SEGA's flagship video game series.

The Team[]

Main article: Team Power
Team Power

Team Power in The Pits with Sonic

Sonic was the second robot entered into Robot Wars by Team Power, from the Hagley Roman Catholic High School. The team captain was Chris Sherwood, a teacher at the school who had previously been captain of the team's first entry, Barry. He was joined by Tom Delahay and Matt McSorley, two of the students that helped to build Sonic. Originally, Tom Delahay drove the robot, but Chris Sherwood took over the controls partway through its Round 1 battle, and drove the robot in Round 2.

Qualificiation[]

Sonic rear attachment

Sonic after its audition

Sonic attended the Series 3 auditions with a sacrificial spear added to the top.

"The spear is fake and was just added so that we could say that we had a weapon."
— Sonic website on Sonic's spear at the Series 3 auditions[4]

Sonic ran the driving test, but became immobile after the spear fell off the top, breaking its aerial.

"Sonic ran OK but it's sacrificial lance snapped off, taking the aerial with it. I didn't like it anyway ! I guess we now wait for a letter to drop on the mat, TV stardom or back to the drawing board."
— The Sonic team on Sonic's performance at the Series 3 auditions[5]

Despite this setback, Sonic was chosen for the main competition.

Robot History[]

Series 3[]

Sonic competed in Heat E of The Third Wars. In the first round, Team Power's machine was drawn against newcomer Hammertron.

SonicpushesHammertronagainstwall

Sonic pushes the immobile Hammertron against the wall

At first, Sonic charged across the arena at its opponent, whilst Hammertron, suffering from interference[6], struggled to move, merely twitching forwards a little. It drove at the side of its black and yellow opponent, which had its spinning hammers raised and was attempting to spin them around. Hammertron turned away, while Sonic reversed and proceeded to push it against the wall from the left-rear corner. Sonic kept ramming Hammertron from the back, again pushing against it while trying to force Hammertron towards Dead Metal's CPZ. Reversing a little, it whacked Hammertron with its front wedge shape, while also forcing it against the railings.

"So Sonic, with a nudge and a push. Those great rubber tyres... plenty of purchase on the arena floor."
— Jonathan Pearce as Sonic pushes Hammertron around
Sonic vs house robots

Sonic is attacked by the House Robots as Hammertron spins its weapon

With Hammertron only managing to drive forwards a little, Sonic turned away to try and line up another attack. In doing so, however, it accidentally drove over the arena spike directly in front of Dead Metal. The spike flicked Sonic up, but it landed back on its wheels and spun around into Dead Metal's right pincer. As Dead Metal tried to grab hold of Sonic, Sonic turned around and darted out of the CPZ, setting up a brief chase by the House Robot. Sonic turned around, and drove at Hammertron, only for Dead Metal to drive at its side.

Sonic turned away, and drove into the arena wall. As it did so, Hammertron managed to land a few blows to it with its own spinning hammers, but these had no effect. Sonic's front spike became caught in one of the gaps within the arena side wall, and Matilda had to lift it with her tusks to push it free. As this happened, Dead Metal grabbed hold of Sonic and dragged it out of the CPZ, while cutting into its right-rear framework using his saw. Following this encounter, Dead Metal let Sonic go, and Sonic drove out into the arena centre.

"There's the cutting blade of Dead Metal - ooh, look at that! Through the support bracket... which will really make control of Sonic difficult if they lose that! And quite wisely... the Sonic boys spinning away. Turning away from trouble..."
— Jonathan Pearce as Dead Metal cuts into Sonic
Sonichammertron

Hammertron is thrown on top of Sonic via the Arena Spike

While having shown occasional bouts of mobility, Hammertron was still laying stationary by the arena wall, only able to spin its hammers. Sonic turned to drive back at Hammertron, and its rear hook fell off. It then drove over to and pushed against Hammertron's front corner, forcing the entire robot against the arena wall. Sonic turned around to drive at Hammertron's back, but accidentally drove around it into the CPZ once again. Dead Metal grasped and pinned Sonic against the wall, trying to cut into its left-hand side with his saw.

Sonic was pushed out of the CPZ against Hammertron. In turn, this pushed Hammertron over the arena spike, which flicked it up onto Sonic's right-rear corner. Sonic drove forwards, letting Hammertron fall back onto the floor, just before the latter was flicked up by the arena spike a second time. Capitalising on this, it reversed into and toppled Hammertron over with a push. As the House Robots came over to attack, Sonic drove away from Hammertron and spun around in victory.

"...and doing all the work against Hammertron, which - let's be honest - has done nothing, really. [referring to Hammertron's hammers] Look like windscreen wipers with no windscreen to wipe! Hammertron, up and over! Wiped out, really. Well done, Sonic!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Hammertron is turned over
SonictipsHammertronover

Sonic tips Hammertron over

Sonic then drove down across the centre of the arena, ramming into the side of Shunt as he drove up to join Dead Metal and Matilda in attacking the fallen Hammertron. Shunt chased after Sonic, but Sonic was able to keep away from him, prompting Shunt to attack Hammertron alongside Dead Metal. Sonic drove around Matilda and rammed into Dead Metal's side, while the latter pushed Hammertron into the pit; it was next seen being pushed across the upper-centre by Shunt. Hammertron's pitting put Sonic through to the next round.

"As soon as Dead Metal got us, I thought we was [sic] goners! But, lucky he never got into the wheel actually. He was just about to touch the wheel...!"
— Matt McSorley after the battle

After the battle, Chris Sherwood revealed in The Pits that the chain had fallen off one of the wheels towards the end of the battle, causing Sonic to lose control. According to Matt McSorley, it had also narrowly avoided getting its right tyre punctured when Dead Metal attacked it mid-fight. A lot of repairs had to be made to get Sonic working for Round 2; Chris Sherwood was still repairing the robot when Philippa Forrester interviewed Team Power before the battle.

Philippa Forrester: "You've only got seconds before you go in there, what are you doing?!"
Chris Sherwood: "Er, just minor adjustments."
Philippa Forrester: "What minor adjustments?"
Chris Sherwood: "Well, the aerial's just fallen off, [Philippa laughs nervously] and the wheel was binding."
Philippa Forrester: "Oh no!"
Chris Sherwood: "We haven't been able to test it all day, so... we'll "suck it and see"."
Philippa Forrester: "Have we fixed it?"
Chris Sherwood: "We don't know yet!"
— The pre-battle interview before the battle with Chaos 2, with Chris Sherwood doing last minute repairs to Sonic

Sonic then went up against First Wars Grand Finalist Team Chaos and their new robot Chaos 2 in the second round. Before the fight, it was found that one of the robot's drive chains had become dislodged, prompting George Francis and his teammates to assist Team Power with their last-minute repairs. Additional issues included a 'binding' wheel and a dislodged aerial, both of which were also rectified before Sonic entered the arena.

"I noticed one of their chains was hanging of while they were queueing up to go into the fight, so we all sort of dived in and helped them fix it. Having helped to repair Sonic, we then threw them all over the place and beat them!"
— George Francis, Ultimate Warrior Collection: Chaos 2
Chaos21stflipSonic

Chaos 2 flips over Sonic the first time

At the start of the battle, both robots started by charging towards each other. As Sonic got close to the arena centre, it swerved to avoid Chaos 2. Chaos 2 turned to face Sonic, and Sonic turned and drove onto the front of George Francis' machine. This proved to be a mistake, as Chaos 2 easily got underneath and flipped Sonic over. With no srimech, Sonic could not right itself, or move on its large tyres. It remained helpless until Chaos 2 drove around the side and threw it back upright. Sonic's flag fell off during this flip.

"...and a lot of admiring glances for CHAOS 2 in The Pits, and that's why! Immediately, that huge... powerful flipper underneath Sonic, and again! This time flipping it back to life! A little bit of a wheelie from Sonic..."
— Jonathan Pearce as Sonic is twice flipped by Chaos 2 in the opening moments
Chaos2trightsSonic

Sonic is righted by Chaos 2

As Sonic fell back onto its wheels, Chaos 2 drove at it, but Sonic drove forwards to avoid it, performing a wheelie as it did so. Sonic turned and drove across the arena, heading past Matilda's CPZ at the top-right of the arena, with its opponent in pursuit. Both competitors met again at the top perimeter; Chaos 2 charged at Sonic, and tried to get under it again from the left-hand side. Sonic turned away from Chaos 2, but in doing so exposed the high ground clearance at its back end. Chaos 2 tried to get under and flip, but Sonic managed to turn away, into Matilda's CPZ. The waiting House Robot pushed Sonic out of the CPZ, pinning it against the wall. Sonic drove forwards, doing another wheelie, turning round to head in the opposite direction as Matilda backed into the right-hand side rails.

"It's gotta stay clear of that flipper. This looks a hugely powerful weapon, for Robot Wars! Sonic in all sorts of troubles. There's the wheelie again, to get away from Matilda!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Sonic drives into Matilda's CPZ whilst trying to avoid Chaos 2
Chaos 2 vs sonic

Sonic, moments before it was flipped again

Having escaped the CPZ, Sonic drove down towards the arena centre. Chaos 2 followed it, but as it tried to get around to Sonic's side, Sonic got its newly-welded ramming blade underneath its left-hand side. Getting the blade hooked in front of the latter's rear castor wheels, Sonic began pushing back. Chaos 2 reversed to get off the blade, then drove under Sonic's front, cleanly flipping it over. As Sonic was flipped, the tail section on the back of the robot became bent, and broke off.

"Belly-up for Sonic... and I don't think Chaos 2 will go in again to right it. They won't make that same mistake twice!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Chaos 2 flips Sonic over again
ShuntPitsSonic

Shunt pits Sonic

This time, Chaos 2 did not flip Sonic back over, leaving Sonic immobile as the House Robots came out. Shunt axed the baseplate of Sonic and lifted the whole robot up with his scoop. Another axe blow followed, but Sonic briefly managed to use its left wheel to turn away from Shunt. This was to no avail, as Shunt drove around Sonic, then pushed it across the arena perimeter, all the way into the pit.

"Sonic goes "boom", and the winner is Chaos 2!"
Craig Charles after the battle

Sonic's defeat marked its elimination from The Third Wars, alongside Team Power's final appearance in the televised show.

"You were toying with him like cat with a mouse! You flipped him over, then you flipped him back, then you flipped him over again, it was almost cruel to watch!"
— Craig Charles to Team Chaos after the battle

Results[]

SONIC - RESULTS
Series 3
The Third Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Round 2
Heat E, Round 1 vs. Hammertron Won
Heat E, Round 2 vs. Chaos 2 Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 1
  • Losses: 1

Series Record[]

Series Sonic Series Record
The First Wars Entered with Barry
The Second Wars Failed to qualify with Gnasher
The Third Wars Heat, Round 2
The Fourth Wars Failed to qualify with Blur
Withdrew from qualifiers with Tecumseh
The Fifth Wars Did not enter
The Sixth Wars Did not enter
The Seventh Wars Did not enter
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

"It still works, despite being thrown around the arena, set upon by 3 house robots and being dumped in the pit!"
— Sonic website after Soinc's Robot Wars appearance

Following its appearance on television, Team Power were surprised to find that, despite the damage received in its battle with Chaos 2, Sonic as a whole still functioned. However, it was soon taken apart, though the team kept it together long enough for it to receive publicity photos from the local press.[7]

Trivia[]

SonicCameoTestAreaHeatA

Sonic (background, right) in the test area, in the background of Weeliwako's introduction

  • Sonic had three sponsors; C.M.P. Batteries and Standby Division, who provided the batteries, and Sunrise Medical, who provided the motors[8].
  • Sonic's other parts were donated by: 4QD, who supplied the motor controllers; RipmaxFailsafe, which provided the R/C gear; S.M. Services provided the failsafe; Indespension provided the wheels; R.S. Comp. supplied the castor; B.S.L. Bearings supplied the bearings; and Edwards Metals supplied the team with the metal needed to built the robot.[9]
  • Sonic had a brief background cameo at the start of Heat A, where it could be seen in the background, being driven around in the test area whilst Philippa Forrester was introducing Weeliwako.
  • Sonic's decorations changed throughout its appearance; in its official photo and introduction prior to Round 1, it had no decorations. By the time of its Round 1 battle, 'eyes' and pieces of red and black polka-dot fur from Team Nemesis had been added to the front and tail sections respectively. For Round 2, two 'eyebrows', made from Team Nemesis' signature spotted red fur, were added, provided by Ciaran Byrne after he welded the blade to the front[10], and yellow-and-black hazard tape was added to the back of the robot.
  • Prior to competing, Sonic initially weighed 85kg at one point, resulting in Team Power being briefly offered to enter it into the proposed Series 3 Super Heavyweight Championship. In the end, extensive weight-saving allowed it to compete in the main competition at a quoted 79kg, while the Super Heavyweight event was cancelled following a behind-the-scenes accident.[11]
  • Sonic was due to team up with Undertaker for the Third Wars Tag Team Terror competition, before the event was cancelled due to a delay in filming caused by the aforementioned accident.[12]

References[]

External Links[]

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