Team Delta, later known as Team Hazard, are a retired BattleBots team led by Tony Buchignani, who entered multiple competitions with robots in several different weight classes. They are best known for their success in the middleweight division, winning three of the four Comedy Central seasons they entered Hazard into, and reaching the final in its only other appearance. As such, Hazard remains one of the most successful BattleBots competitors in the show's history.
The team originally entered early US events with a featherweight called Wedge of Doom, which would later be redesigned as a lightweight for BattleBots. Other entries included their lightweight and middleweight for 1997, named Ominous Brick of Havoc and Alexander respectively. In 1999, Team Delta entered the inaugural BattleBots competition in Long Beach, California with heavyweight Agrippa, which was unsuccessful, and Spike of Doom. The latter was a collaborative effort between captain Tony Buchignani's original Wedge of Doom and Andrew Lindsey's Spike - both featherweights.
Team Delta's logo.
Hazard would sit out of Season 2.0 due to concerns over the team being able to rebuild it ahead of the competition, and instead opted to enter Evil Fish Tank - essentially Hazard but armed with a lifting wedge as opposed to its destructive bar spinner. Winning its first match by forfeit, Evil Fish Tank reached the quarter-finals before falling to Toe-Crusher. The team also competed in the superheavyweight class with War Machine, which reached the semi-finals of its only competition before being propped against the Lexan and losing by knockout to Diesector.
Hazard returned in Season 3.0 with a point to prove, and did just that, winning five times in a row to pick up its second middleweight title. The team also debuted lightweight Wedge of Doom in this competition, winning six fights in its own right before losing to Gamma Raptor in the semi-finals.
In Season 4.0, Hazard backed up its winning streak with another undefeated season and won a third middleweight competition, giving it a career record of 14-0 up to that point as it got the better of Complete Control in the final.
For Season 5.0, the last to air on Comedy Central, Hazard continued to impress. It added another three wins to its belt, which included a second win over Zion en route to a record-equaling fourth championship decider. However, T-Minus from Inertia Labs managed to jam Hazard's bar against its skirt and throw Tony Buchignani's robot upside-down, ending its winning run of seventeen battles and relinquishing the title it dominated across its televised career at the final hurdle. Wedge of Doom returned in the lightweight category, reaching the title-decider in its respective division before losing to Dr. Inferno Jr., piloted by Jason Bardis.
Outside BattleBots[]
The featherweight Wedge of Doom won both the 1996 and 1997 US Robot Wars championships in its weight class. With Evil Fish Tank, Team Delta won Bot Bash 2000 and the second Bot Bash event too.
The team most recently competed at the 2005 edition of RoboGames with Smashbox.
Team Members[]
Tony Buchignani[]
- "I'm an attorney, so I'm a little out of place. I have no formal engineering or electrical training. Back in 1996, I just started building and have been competing ever since."
- — Tony Buchignani on the old BattleBots website.
During the team's appearances on BattleBots, Tony Buchignani was a lawyer by trade. He captained the team since joining in 2000, and Hazard remained in his possession beyond the show's end.
Dan Danknick[]
American roboticist Dan Danknick was present for Team Delta's first televised BattleBots campaign, where Hazard won its first middleweight championship. He also competed in the early Robot Wars events, as well as briefly appearing on the televised show with The Mangulator. He held a commentary role during the 1999 Las Vegas BattleBots competition and ultimately went on to serve a presenting role for the TLC show Robotica after his association with BattleBots ended.
Main article: Dan Danknick
Andrew Lindsey[]
Andrew Lindsey previously fought in the early US Robot Wars events with a featherweight robot called Spike, forming an early alliance with Tony Buchignani's Wedge of Doom. As such, the multibot Spike of Doom formed. He also entered Spike into the MTV pilot for an American spin-off of Robot Wars in 2000. In order to increase its weight closer to the heavyweight limit, Spike was armored in additional 3/4" steel panels, bringing it to around 190lbs. However, in its only battle, Spike found itself defenseless against the destructive power of Mauler.
Main article: Andrew Lindsey
Bob Pitzer[]
Perhaps better known for his involvement with Team Raptor, Pitzer organized BotBash events which Team Delta competed in. Representing Team Raptor, he captained and entered Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors with Rippa Raptor. An engineer by trade, he worked as a robotics specialist for Fortune 100. Alongside Chuck Pitzer, he ran a company called Pitzer Consulting, which gave advice about mechanical design, using computer simulations to predict problems and find solutions ahead of time. He also served as a judge during the 1999 Las Vegas event.
Main article: Bob Pitzer
Robots[]
| Name | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard | Middleweight | Season 1.0
Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Wedge of Doom | Lightweight | Season 3.0
Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Evil Fish Tank | Season 2.0 | |
| War Machine | Superheavyweight | Season 2.0 |
| Agrippa | Heavyweight | Long Beach 1999 |
| Spike of Doom | Lightweight | Long Beach 1999 |
Win/Loss Record[]
- Wins: 37
- Losses: 10
- Draws: 1
See Also[]
- Team Hazard's Website (Archived)
- Team Delta's Website (Archived)
- Team Delta's Website
- Wedge of Doom (US Robot Wars)
- Spike (MTV Robot Wars pilot)
Trivia[]
- Tony Buchignani cited La Machine, Blendo, Vlad the Impaler and BioHazard as his inspirations for competing in BattleBots with numerous different robots.
- Despite winning three titles and making numerous other championship fights, the only toy merchandise Team Delta received came in the form of a War Machine MiniBot release.