Team Monsoon are a team from the United Kingdom who competed in BattleBots World Championship III and IV with their heavyweight entry bearing the same name, as well as World Championship VII. The team also attempted to compete in the World Championship V and VI, but were not able to travel due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and issues concerning NIE Visas respectively.
An offshoot of Team Tauron from the UK series Robot Wars, Team Monsoon first built their BattleBots entry as the successor to the former's Tauron series of robots. With the cancelation of the rebooted Robot Wars series in 2018, the team converted Tauron Mk 3 into the first iteration of Monsoon. Team Monsoon won the Founder's Award in their first BattleBots season.
Outside BattleBots[]
Tom Brewster and his father Tim originally competed in Robot Wars as Team Tauron, opting to design a heavyweight as their first build. The team fell in Round 1 of Series 9 with Tauron as it was immobilized by Concussion, captained by future Monsoon teammate Tim Rackley.
A second version of Tauron, dubbed Tauron Mk2, entered Series 10 as a replacement for the ill-fated Triforce. Tauron Mk2 performed better than its predecessor as it placed second in its first round qualifier, but was defeated by newcomer Androne 4000 in the redemption rounds.
Between BattleBots competitions, the team have competed in various live events such as Extreme Robots with Tauron Mk3, earlier builds of Monsoon as well as a number of robots in lower weight classes. Perhaps best known for their vertical spinner Drizzle, Team Monsoon debuted a new 3lb beetleweight called Stratus in July 2022. It chalked up eight knockouts in its first event, winning the Rapture Gaming Festival competition overall.
The version of Monsoon intended for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, dubbed Monsoon 3, fought in Portsmouth's Extreme Robots event in May 2022.[1] Forced to withdraw against Donald Thump due to issues concerning their left-side drive, Monsoon beat Zadkiel, built by Craig Colliass of 2020 season hopeful Spitfire, and then beat Apex.[2]
In February 2024, Team Monsoon announced their first event - Robo Showdown I. Held in May and in the city of Birmingham, it was the first UK event to allow power switches as a valid and safe means of powering on and off a robot. Following a second place finish at the June 2024 Robot Rebellion event, the team plan to compete in the September and December National Havoc Robot League events with Stratus and 30lber Hurricane respectively - the latter being a scaled-down Monsoon.
Team Members[]
Tom Brewster[]
Team Monsoon captain Tom Brewster is an established builder on the UK live scene, having competed in Bugglebots and various BBB Beetleweight Championships with a beetleweight version of Monsoon called Drizzle. In November 2021, Drizzle achieved third place overall in that month's Bristol Bot Builders Championship event, but retired after the March 2022 Scouse Showdown event. Along with his father, Tom fought in Series 9 and 10 of Robot Wars with heavyweight Tauron, a two-wheel drive vertical spinner whose design evolved to form the basis for Monsoon.
In 2018, Tom Brewster equipped Monsoon with its vertical disk and competed in multiple Extreme Robots events, including one in Cheltenham where it went unbeaten. The disk was tuned down to 125mph in order to abide by the rules of UK live events. Despite this, Monsoon was still capable of causing serious damage in its fights. Tom Brewster also has a featherweight vertical spinner called Straddle, which is similar in design to HUGE but with a large asymmetrical bar spinner akin to that of Monsoon. A sportsman version of Straddle with a scoop fitted in place of the kinetic weapon called Scööple also competes at BBB BEVs events in Bristol. By day, he works as a video games tester as well as running the Monsoon Robotics Store.[3]
Tim Rackley[]
Tim "Rackers" Rackley was one of the original team members for their 2018 season debut. As well as supporting Brewster with tactics in the BattleBox, he became known for his exuberant character onscreen, at one point agreeing to give Max Bales of the Mohawk team a Mohawk-style haircut in the pits. Rackley left Team Monsoon to pursue Ragnarök alongside Team Nebula's Jack Tweedy for the 2019 season, but re-joined them ahead of the 2020 season, prior to their withdrawal. He returned in 2022 as Team Monsoon's co-captain.
He competed in the 2018 King of Bots UK International Championships with vertical spinner featherweight Furious George, reaching the Top 20 for the event. Tim Rackley also served as referee for UK beetleweight web-series Bugglebots and various insect live events.
Sarah Brewster[]
Dr. Sarah Brewster (née Asplin) is the only team member other than Tom Brewster to have been part of Monsoon for their first two seasons, but also has a brief history in the sport. She was part of her father's team for the last three series of classic Robot Wars, competing with The Alien. She was due to be present for Team Monsoon in 2020 and 2021 too, prior to their forced withdrawal.
She married captain Tom Brewster in 2024.
Sam Griffin[]
Only present within the 2018 season, Sam Griffin accompanied Tim Rackley with Robot Wars entry Concussion, which reached the Grand Final on its debut appearance in Series 9. He also competes with a beetleweight called Night Fury, which became Chatham Challenge Belt champion in July 2021. Sam Griffin's father was due to be part of the team for the 2021 season.
Rory Mangles[]
Joining Team Monsoon for the 2019 season after a year assisting Team Danby and Predator, Rory Mangles also fought in Series 8, 9 and 10 of Robot Wars as captain of thwackbot Nuts and its meltybrain-equipped successor, Nuts 2. The second version of his team's heavyweight became a Grand Finalist during Series 10, losing to defending champion and eventual series runner-up Carbide. Rory Mangles also had a hand in the rebuild of Two Headed Death Flamingo, though the Bristol-based team were not successful in either attempt to compete in BattleBots. He would be awarded the Excellence in Sportsmanship Award in 2022 for his help with VESC systems on many teams during that season.
Tim & Jane Brewster[]
Parents to Team Monsoon's captain, Tim and Jane Brewster joined the team ahead of their 2019 season BattleBots appearance.
Kate Brewster[]
A new addition to the team since Team Monsoon's last BattleBots outing, her role on the team is unknown. Due to Team Monsoon's misfortune with applications to recent seasons, she had not been present at a BattleBots prior to World Championship VII.
Robots[]
| Name | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Monsoon | Heavyweight | World Championship III World Championship IV World Championship V (Withdrew) World Championship VI (Withdrew) World Championship VII BattleBots: Champions II |
Win/Loss Record[]
- Wins: 11
- Losses: 9