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"Although an enormous amount of paleontological research is known about the Reptilian Age (The Geological timeframe comprising of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods), there have long been rumors of a non-terrestrial genetic intervention during the Reptilian Age. Until now, no proof of these hybrid creatures have ever been unearthed. Team Raptor scientists however, have found some of these genetically enhanced breeds known as Robotic-Reptilia."
— Team Raptor website

Team Raptor was an American team that competed in both seasons of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, particularly known for their success in BattleBots.

The Team[]

"Team Raptor was formed in April of 2000 by a group of robotics enthusiasts to explore the forms of devastation and pain they could inflict on others in battle arenas."
— Team Raptor website
TeamRaptorRippaRaptor

Team Raptor with Rippa Raptor

The team consisted of captain Chris Harriman and Robert (Bob) Pitzer who were joined by Kelly Walterscheid and Robert Wilkinson in Season 1. Chris Harriman and Robert Pitzer were both experienced roboteers, with Chris Harriman having competed in the Robot Wars events in America that preceded the televised show, and Robert Pitzer previously competing as part of The Mangulator's team in the Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars/War of Independence.

TeamRaptorCycloneS2

Team Raptor with Cyclone in Season 2

They entered both seasons of Extreme Warriors with the vertical spinner Cyclone, with the team referring to themselves as Team Cyclone on occasions where they fought with this machine. Team Raptor also competed in US Season 1 with two other robots - Rippa Raptor, crewed by Pitzer, Walterscheid and Wilkinson, and Tut Tut, a loanerbot whose axe was modified by Harriman to increase its power and damage potential.[1]

Despite never achieving a win in the main competitions, all three robots achieved considerable success in side competitions: Cyclone won the Season 2 Annihilator and became the first heavyweight robot to throw another out of the arena using a spinning weapon, doing so on two occasions. Rippa Raptor finished as runner-up in the Season 1 Annihilator, losing to Drillzilla in the final. Meanwhile, under the controls of Harriman, Pitzer and Kivin, Tut Tut jointly won the Season 1 Tag Team Terror competition with Drillzilla, and reached the final round of the Robot Rebellion in the same season, suffering no losses along the way.

The team's BattleBots entry, Tripulta Raptor was due to compete in Extreme Warriors Season 2 under the name Tripulta, but did not compete for unknown reasons.

In keeping with the team's dinosaur theme through their robots, the team's website referred to their robots as "Robotic-Reptillia", listing them in an "Species and Evolution Tree", giving them faux-Latin species names, and the pages on the robots often describe them as if they were animals, listing "predatory instincts" and "evolution history".

Team Members[]

Robert Pitzer[]

"Robert Pitzer has experience as a mechanical engineer and robotics specialist at a Fortune 100 company. He has experience in a broad range of robotics applications and has developed a number of autonomous and non-autonomous robots. He is heavily involved in the robotic combat community and is the lead producer of a robotic combat event known as BotBash."
— The Pitzer Consulting website on Robert Pitzer
Team Raptor

Chris Harriman and Robert Pitzer with Rippa Raptor

RippaRaptorControls

Robert Pitzer at the controls of Rippa Raptor

The team captain when the team entered Rippa Raptor, Robert Pitzer (credited as Robert 'Bob' Pitzer) was the driver of Rippa Raptor, although he was not part of the Cyclone team in the same season, nor did he compete with Tut Tut. He was part of the Cyclone team in Extreme Warriors Season 2.

"My day job is as a design engineer building prototype industrial equipment, so this was relaxation. Once we decided what we wanted to do, the rest was pretty straightforward. ... As mentioned, I do this type of thing all the time, so the resources were what I normally use for work. I worked in a friend's machine shop to make the parts and brought raw materials from a local scrap yard."
— Rob Pitzer in the Robot Wars Club newsletter[2]

Outside of Robot Wars, Robert was an experienced engineer, who worked as a robotics specialist for Fortune 100. He and his relative Chuck ran a company known as "Pitzer Consulting", which gave advice about mechanical design, using computer simulations to predict problems and find solutions[3].

"...We won a hard fought series, drank a lot of beer and had a really good time with all our Robot Wars friends. Given the opportunity, we wouldn't hesitate to do it again."
— Rob Pitzer in Robot Wars Club newsletter

Chris Harriman[]

Preda Raptor

Chris Harriman with Preda Raptor

The only team member to be present in all the team's appearances, Chris Harriman was the captain of Cyclone in both of its appearances, having come up with the idea for a large spinner[4]. He drove the robot in both of its appearances. He also competed with Rippa Raptor, but was not listed on the statistics board.

TutTutChris

Chris Harriman with Tut Tut

He also entered the loanerbot Tut Tut in the Tag Team and the Robot Rebellion after Cyclone was damaged in the US Championship. He modified the axe to increase the damage potential, and achieved great success with it, jointly winning the Tag Team Terror with Drillzilla, and reaching the Final of the Robot Rebellion. Whilst competing with Tut Tut, Chris Harriman entered alone.

Nemesis1996

Nemesis, Chris Harriman's heavyweight entry for the 1996 US competition

Nemesis team raptor

Chris Harriman and his 1996 teammate with Nemesis

Prior to the televised series, Chris Harriman had fought in the original 1996 US Robot Wars competition with Nemesis, a machine unrelated to the Irish robot or the future BattleBots competitor from the Drillzilla team. While being defeated early in the Face-Off events by TerMinal frenZy, Nemesis picked up an exhibition match win against Namreko 3000 and reached the final of the Heavyweight Melee tournament. Highlights of Nemesis' Face-Off and Melee appearances were included as part of the American Robot Wars 1996 VHS release.[5]

Kelly Walterscheid[]

CycloneTeamS1

The team with Cyclone in Season 1

Only part of the team in Season 1, Kelly competed with Chris Harriman with Cyclone, but was not part of the Tut Tut team. She was listed as part of the team on Rippa Raptor's statistics boards, but was not present in either of its appearances.

Robert Wilkinson[]

The third member of the team when they fought with Rippa Raptor in the US Championship and the Annihilator, Robert did not return for Season 2.

"We're gonna kick some cow ass, some clown ass, and whatever else they can put in front of us!"
— Robert Wilkinson's only speaking role

Patrick Kevin[]

Joining the Cyclone team for Season 2, Patrick Kevin did not have a speaking role.

Other[]

Although he did not compete with the team in any of their Robot Wars appearances, Robert's relative Chuck Pitzer was part of the team throughout their BattleBots appearances, usually as the team captain. Indeed, throughout the team's appearances with Ghost Raptor in the reboot of BattleBots, Chuck Pitzer was the mainstay captain whilst Robert Pitzer never competed.

Robots[]

Name Image Weight Class Series
Cyclone Cyclone US2 Heavyweight Season 1-2
Rippa Raptor Rippa Raptor Heavyweight Season 1
Tut Tut Tut Tut Heavyweight Season 1

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 12
  • Losses: 4

Series Record[]

US Series Team Raptor Series Record
Season 1 Heat (Round 1) with Cyclone
Heat (Round 1) with Rippa Raptor
Side events with Tut Tut
Season 2 Heat, Round 1 with Cyclone 2
Nickelodeon Did not enter

NOTE: Tut Tut competed in Nickelodeon Robot Wars, but this was under the captaincy of Team Juggerbot NOTE: Robert Pitzer also competed as part of The Mangulator team

Outside Robot Wars[]

WLOW

W.L.O.W.

Team Raptor also entered the original BattleBots with several robots across all weight divisions. The team first competed in the Long Beach '99 event with W.L.O.W., where it won three battles by KO, before losing to The Crusher.

AlphaRaptor

Alpha Raptor

For Season 1.0, W.L.O.W. was modified to become Alpha Raptor in Season 1.0. Alpha Raptor reached the final, defeating Cereal Box Killer, Dr. Inferno Jr., Tentoumushi, Mouser Mecha-Catbot, before finally losing to Backlash.

BetaRaptorS2

Beta Raptor

The team returned for Season 2.0 with Beta Raptor. After receiving a bye, it fought Grunion, then HammerHead, winning both battles by KO, then fought The Crusher, winning on a 30-15 Judges' Decision. Beta Raptor then lost to Ziggo.

GammaRaptorS3

Gamma Raptor in BattleBots Season 3

For Series 3.0, the Beta Raptor became Gamma Raptor. Being seeded, it skipped the preliminary rounds. It first fought [1], winning on a 34-11 Judges' Decision, then fought Serial Box Killer, winning by a KO, then Mouser Super Mecha-Catbot, also winning by KO, then beat Wedge of Doom on a judges' decision to reach the final. There it fought Dr. Inferno Jr., but lost on a judges' decision to finish as runner-up again. Gamma Raptor also took place in the Lightweight Royal Rumble at the end of the series, but lost.

GammaRaptorS4

Gamma Raptor in BattleBots Season 4

GammaRaptorS5

Gamma Raptor in BattleBots Season 5

Gamma Raptor returned for Season 4.0, but was much less successful, losing its first battle to The Big B. It also competed in the Lightweight Consolation Rumble, but despite surviving to the end, it lost.

Gamma Raptor redeemed itself in Season 5.0. It was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds, and it fought RoboMisDirection, where it won on a judges' decision to reach the Round of 16, where it fought Serial Box Killer again, and won by KO to reach the Quarter-Finals, where it fought Hexy Jr.. It won on a judges' decision to reach the Semi-Finals, where it fought Dr. Inferno Jr., which defeated it like it had done in Season 3.0.

Team Raptor also competed with the heavyweight Tripulta Raptor. In Season 2.0, it was due to fight Liquid Lunch, but Liquid Lunch was forced to withdraw due to technical issues, putting Tripulta Raptor through to the Round of 16, where it faced Toro, which won by KO.

Tripulta Raptor returned for Season 3.0, where it beat Orion by KO to reach the televised rounds, but lost by KO to KillerB. In Season 4.0, Tripulta Raptor did even worse, losing its only battle to Agitator.

CarnageRaptorS3

Carnage Raptor in BattleBots Season 3

The team also entered the Lightweight tournament of Season 3.0 with the axlebot Carnage Raptor. It beat A Bot Named Sue and Botilla the Hun, both on judges' decisions, then Malice by KO to reach the Round of 32, where it lost by KO to Sallad. It also lost in the Lightweight Consolation Rumble to The Crusher and Reaper.

CarnageRaptorS4

Carnage Raptor in BattleBots Season 4

Carnage Raptor returned for Season 4.0, where it was seeded, so skipped the preliminary rounds. It beat Whirligig, Low Blow and Hexy Jr., then lost to The Big B.

It returned again for Season 5.0, and was seeded, so skipped the preliminary rounds. It won its first battle, against The Prosecutor, on a judges decision, but lost to Death By Monkeys on a judges decision.

PackRaptorsS4

Pack Raptors in BattleBots Season 4

The team also entered with the middleweight clusterbot Pack Raptors in Seasons 3.0 through 5.0. In Season 3.0, it beat Squirrelly D and Gary Gizzmo, on judges decisions each time, but lost to T-Wrex in the final preliminary round.

Currently, the team fights with a modified version of Tripulta Raptor called Preda Raptor and a modified Gamma Raptor called Alien Raptor.

GhostRaptor ABCBB2015

Ghost Raptor as it appeared in ABC BattleBots Season 1

Ghost Raptor BB2016

Ghost Raptor as it appeared in ABC BattleBots Season 2

In 2015, Team Raptor returned for ABC's reboot of BattleBots with Ghost Raptor, armed with a large horizontal spinning bar mounted on a moveable arm. Despite losing the use of its spinner in its very first fight, Ghost Raptor performed well in ABC Season 1, reaching the Semi-Finals by pushing Complete Control around and winning the Judges' decision, defeating Warrior Clan by opponent breakdown, then famously defeating Icewave by using a long 'de-icer' bar to destabilise its opponent and cause it to flip over. Ghost Raptor settled for joint third place after a loss to the eventual champion Bite Force. However, it lost its first battle in ABC Season 2 to Son of Whyachi, and despite receiving a wildcard to progress to the Round of 32, it was defeated again by Razorback there.

Ghost Raptor - 2020

Ghost Raptor at BattleBots in 2020

Ghost Raptor - 2020 - Team

Team Raptor at BattleBots in 2020

After a four-year hiatus from robot combat, Team Raptor returned to the 2020 season of BattleBots with a new version of Ghost Raptor (although it should be noted that unlike with the previous two seasons, no member of Team Raptor from Robot Wars was present on this BattleBots team led by Chuck Pitzer). Ghost Raptor's first opponent in the 2020 season was Shatter!, but it quickly lost the use of its spinner and eventually caught fire and broke down. In its next fight against JackPot, Ghost Raptor's blade was torn off and its body was damaged, leading to a second loss. Although Ghost Raptor would collect an untelevised victory over Chomp, a 1-2 record was not enough for Ghost Raptor to reach the Top 32 and it was eliminated. Outside the main competition, Ghost Raptor also fought in the BattleBots: Bounty Hunters spin-off series, fighting for the right to take on BattleBots legend ICEwave. In its first fight against Deadlift, Ghost Raptor lost the use of its spinning weapon early and was lifted around the arena, but went through after Deadlift broke down. Ghost Raptor lost its spinner again in the semi-finals when it was torn apart by HyperShock and it eventually lost after being overturned and left unable to right itself.

Ghost Raptor - 2021

Ghost Raptor at BattleBots in 2021

Ghost Raptor - 2021 - Team

Team Raptor at BattleBots in 2021

Ghost Raptor returned to the 2021 season with improvements to its spinner and lifting forks. After a close defeat to newcomer Glitch on a Judges' decision where Ghost Raptor freed its trapped foe several times, Ghost Raptor suffered a brutal loss to Cobalt where it was split into multiple pieces and was left unable to complete its Fight Night campaign, ending on an 0-2 record.

Outside of Robot Wars and BattleBots, Team Raptor's robots have made numerous appearances on various television programs. Gamma Raptor and Preda Raptor both made appearances in the episode "Robot Fight Club" on the Disney XD sitcom Lab Rats[6]. Gamma Raptor also appeared in the episode "El Gran Canon" on Showtime's Shameless.

Trivia[]

  • On two occasions, Team Raptor memorabilia was carried by UK Series 2 champions Team Panic Attack during the course of Extreme 1 and Series 5:
    • 'Team Raptor' stickers were attached to the front and rear of Panic Attack in Extreme 1, visible during a number of its battles filmed at the Earl's Court sessions (e.g. the International Inferno).
    • Michael Davies, son of driver Kim Davies, wore a Team Raptor cap during its Heat run in Series 5.
  • Whilst building 259, Adam Clark contacted Team Raptor for advice on designing and building 259, having been inspired by their robot Cyclone. He asked them lots of questions to help him build the robot, and Team Raptor sent him a free Team Raptor t-shirt, which he wore to the Series 6 qualifiers[7].

Honours[]


References[]

External Links[]

See Also[]

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