Best known for competing in the UK robot combat show Robot Wars, Razer was a four-wheel drive machine with a wedge-shaped profile and a powerful hydraulic crushing claw, often described as a 'beak', which was capable of exerting three tonnes of pressure at the tip.
Razer used its 'beak' to pierce through armor and, on occasion, internal components too, which was its main way of damaging and incapacitating opponents. The sides of the 'beak' also incorporated a unique self-righting mechanism, consisting of a pair of wings which could open out and push it back onto its wheels after being flipped onto its sides. The mechanism operated via a steel cable which was pulled up as the crusher rose upwards to its highest position. To enable the entire robot to meet the maximum heavyweight limit, both the 'beak' and wings had multiple holes drilled into them which augmented its distinctive 'part-bird, part-reptile' aesthetic.
In 1999, Razer enjoyed reasonable success at Long Beach, winning two fights in the main Gigabot (heavyweight) bracket before being defeated by Tazbot and consigned to the loser's bracket. Another victory against Kill-O-Amp ensued, though a second loss against Rhino would eliminate Razer from the tournament. Razer redeemed itself through becoming one of the five robots to survive the full five minutes of the Gigabot Rumble, ultimately being declared champion after receiving the majority of the audience's applause.[2]
At the Las Vegas event, Razer received a bye to face Voltarc in the Round of 16. The UK machine lost on a 7-2 judges' decision and was eliminated from the heavyweight tournament. As at Long Beach, it also fought in the Heavyweight Rumble, but lost this time to BioHazard.
Although Razer did not return for televised BattleBots competitions, team captain Ian Lewis briefly joined Team Hurtz and their axebot KillerHurtz.
After a three-year hiatus, Team Razer returned to BattleBots for Season 5.0, this time with the equally distinctive and damaging horizontal spinner Warhead. Although the show was canceled after Season 5.0, Team Razer brought Warhead out of retirement in 2015, where it fought until 2018.
Ian Lewis and Simon Scott with Razer at Las Vegas 1999.
Razer en route to Las Vegas in 1999.
Ian Lewis and Simon Scott working on Razer during the Long Beach event.
Razer was originally built for and became one of the most successful robots on Robot Wars, debuting in Series 2 in an earlier form without self-righting wings. It would instantly impress, but was hamstrung in earlier appearances by a run of reliability issues. Despite this, Razer won the Best Design Award in its debut series.
Razer began to earn overall wins in supporting events held throughout Series 3 and 4, such as the First World Championship, International League Championship and Southern Annihilator. By this time, the wings had been added and were used similarly to how they would be in BattleBots.
An upgraded Razer successfully defended its World Championship title in 2001 before finally winning the main UK Championship in Series 5, defeating Bigger Brother in the title decider by judges' decision.
In Series 6, it would once again reach the Grand Final, finishing runner-up to sworn rival Tornado in a tense and controversial final match. With a total of 40 battle victories, including appearances in the rebooted Series 8 and the US spin-offs, Razer is statistically the most successful competitor to have ever fought in Robot Wars.
Razer is still around to this day, remaining under the possession of Ian Lewis. The team considered donating the robot to a London Museum in 2016, though this never came to fruition.
Razer in 2021.
Razer during Series 8 of Robot Wars.
Razer taking on Bigger Brother in the Series 5 title decider.
Razer crushes the back of its opponent, Aggrobot, during Series 3 of Robot Wars.
Razer's BattleBots debut was against Stephen Felk and Voltarc. The match started with both robots chasing each other around the BattleBox, before Razer got in behind Voltarc and started squeezing it with its crushing arm. However, a large portion of Voltarc's body surface was in contact along Razer's crushing arm which prevented Razer from inflicting notable damage. After this exchange Razer let Voltarc go and tried to gain a better angle to crush with its arm. Voltarc responded by slamming into Razer from the side and then using its lifting arm. Votarc proceeded to lift Razer up and then carried it around the BattleBox before pushing it against the arena wall. Razer landed upside-down which prompted Voltarc into doing a victory spin, however Razer managed to get back into the battle with its self-righting wings. The crowd cheered Razer's self-righting display, and Razer followed this up by attacking Voltarc from the front. Razer managed to squeeze a hole in Voltarc's 6mm armor before the time was up, with Razer being declared the winner afterwards by crowd vote.
Razer vs. Agrippa
Razer bites down on Agrippa's wheel.
Razer punctures the lid of Agrippa, shorting its electronics.
Razer's victory over Voltarc put it through to the second round to face Agrippa. Here, it effortlessly pierced Agrippa's armor and caused severe damage to its opponent's internals, mainly by 'smashing and shorting' its entire electrical system. The damage was notable enough to force Agrippa to forfeit its place in the loser's bracket.[3] This left Razer as the winner by knockout and it moved on to the next round.
Razer vs. Tazbot
Tazbot flips Razer onto the killsaws.
Razer gets lifted by Tazbot before going for a ride on the saws.
Razer carries out a rare drive on its opponent.
Razer's attempts to self right are prevented by Tazbot's arm.
In the third stage of the main bracket Razer faced Tazbot - built by Donald Hutson. The fight started with both machines looking to find an area on their opponents to exploit, but it was Tazbot which managed to prise its way under Razer first. After a lengthy lift from Tazbot, Razer dropped down without any further punishment, before it tried to respond with an attack of its own - though this was halted by the wedges that surrounded Tazbot. Tazbot's next attack managed to tip Razer onto its side, but the British machine kept itself upright by digging its weapon into Tazbot's arm. Tazbot used this purchase to maneuver Razer towards the killsaws, before the front of Tazbot's arm came into contact with another set of killsaws. Tazbot's next attack turned Razer over fully, which allowed it to pin Razer in on the killsaws as the UK machine attempted in vain to bring its self-righting wings into play. After a period, Razer did right itself, but Tazbot quickly followed up by jamming its arm in between the area where Razer's wings were retracting to. Both machines then skittered over the killsaws, and after one more interaction with the arena trap Razer managed to break itself free from Tazbot's grip. Tazbot then carried out a partial lift on Razer before Razer drove Tazbot into the spikestrips. A period of jostling followed, before Tazbot once again lifted Razer over and onto the killsaws before pinning it down from above. Razer attempted to use its self-righting mechanism to get back over but the mechanism had been damaged by one of the spikes on the floor and jammed before failing completely. Tazbot won by knockout which left Razer in the loser's bracket.
Razer vs. Kill-O-Amp
Razer hoists Kill-O-Amp up in the air.
In the loser's bracket, Razer took on Kill-O-Amp. Razer was quickly on the offensive and squeezed one of Kill-O-Amp's wheels, removing most of the rubber. Kill-O-Amp turned around and drove away from Razer, but the British bot managed to trap Kill-O-Amp against the corner of the BattleBox and started crushing it, sinking straight through its main battery, creating sparks and smoke as Kill-O-Amp's internals shorted out. Kill-O-Amp was still stuck on Razer's arm, so it took the immobile Kill-O-Amp around the BattleBox. Razer then dropped Kill-O-Amp onto the killsaws and the match was over shortly after. Razer won by KO and advanced to the next round.
Razer vs. Rhino
The Razer team enter the BattleBox to stop their machine.
Next up for Razer was Rhino. As the match began, Razer charged straight at Rhino but just missed out on griping its opponent. Rhino retaliated by firing its spike, narrowly missing the crushing arm of its opponent. Razer retreated to gain a better angle of attack but drifted into to the killsaws. Having already suffered damage from the killsaws, Razer was momentarily distracted and Rhino took advantage. Rhino turned around and fired its spike on Razer. The spike went straight through its armor and broke the pump solenoid. This would not typically have disabled Razer, but the spike also hit the chassis and shocked the radio switch to the off position. Because of this, Razer was only able to drive around in circles. Ian Lewis proceeded to enter the BattleBox and grabbed Razer's tail before deactivating the machine. Rhino was the winner by KO and Razer was eliminated from the tournament.
Gigabot Rumble
Razer is lifted by Namreko 3000.
Razer penetrates the top of frenZy.
Razer causes notable damage to Kill-O-Amp.
Razer is carried around by Voltarc while causing damage to frenZy.
Team Razer with their award.
Alongside the main championship, Razer was one of a number of heavyweights to also participate in the Gigabot Rumble. Razer began the rumble by immediately driving across the arena and attempting to put K.I.S.S. under pressure, but was also driven at itself by BioHazard. After repositioning, Razer then scooped up Punjar, but backed away as other machines closed in. Razer then managed to single out frenZy, and caused notable puncture marks in its opponent's aluminum armor, which continuously swung and missed with its hammer in response. Razer then locked horns with Namreko 3000, but was turned over during the engagement, before the fight was paused due to Juggernaut catching fire. Namreko 3000 continued to harass the overturned Razer after the fight resumed, before Razer responded with a drive and attempted crush attack which left Namreko 3000 smoking. Razer and Namreko 3000's tussle was interrupted by frenZy which Razer turned its attention towards again. Razer then drove frenZy across the BattleBox before crushing into it multiple times - causing notable buckling to the top of frenZy's shell. Razer temporarily pursued BioHazard, and after attacking frenZy once again Razer then focused on Kill-O-Amp. Here, Razer diasabled one of the box-shaped robot's wheels, before piercing deep into its polycarbonate shell. Razer then tried to make inroads on Tazbot, before it pierced into frenZy once more. With Razer and frenZy joined together, Voltarc swept into underneath the pair and carried them around the BattleBox for the closing stages of the fight. Razer was declared the winner of the Gigabot Rumble by audience vote.
Las Vegas 1999[]
Razer vs. Voltarc
Voltarc lifts Razer against the spike strip.
Razer tries in vain to pierce through the titanium wedge of Voltarc
After receiving a bye in the Round of 32, Razer went up against Voltarc again in the Round of 16. In the match, Voltarc lifted Razer against the spikestrip and Razer managed to get its crushing arm onto the front of Voltarc. However, Razer wasn't able to pierce into the armor of Voltarc and the match ended with Voltarc winning on a 7-2 judges' decision. This meant that Razer was eliminated from the tournament.
Heavyweight Rumble
Razer looks for its next victim.
BioHazard lifts Tazbot on top of Razer and Mortis.
Razer also participated in the end-of-tournament Heavyweight Rumble. It immediately ran into trouble when Tazbot grappled it and carried it around sideways. After escaping, it attempted to crush Ronin, Namreko 3000 and Blendo, not making any visible damage. At some point, Razer's right rear wheelguard crumpled into the wheel, leaving it with limited mobility. BioHazard piled Tazbot and Mortis on top of it, but it managed to struggle free in the dying seconds. BioHazard was declared the winner of the heavyweight rumble. This was Razer's last BattleBots appearance.
Results[]
RAZER
Long Beach 1999
Gigabot Championship Eliminated in Loser's Bracket
