Crash n' Burn

**Crash n' Burn** is a Heavyweight multibot from Red Spark Robotics that competed at RoboGames 2017. It is a pair of two nearly identical wedge-bots called Crash, and Burn, both armed with flamethrowers. Crash is the orange robot, and Burn is the blue one. The two were quite successful in their first event, becoming crowd favorites after taking out two former RoboGames champions on their way to a fifth place finish.

## Robot History

### RoboGames 2017

Crash n' Burn's first match was against Sabre-X. This match started with Sabre-X spinning up, and Crash n' Burn swarming it in an attempt to stop the flywheel of Sabre-X. Burn then got under Sabre-X, however Sabre-X got around to the side of Crash, and shredded its wheel immobilizing it on one side. With Crash now left spinning in circles, Sabre-X then went after Burn as Crash deployed its flamethrower. Sabre then shredded the wheel on Burn as well, and backed off to see if the multibots were still mobile. Once the duo started moving again Sabre-X went in for the attack once more, ripping into Burn's wheel once again. The countdown then started on Crash n' Burn, but three seconds from being counted out, Burn moved, and Sabre-X came in, and finished it off, and Crash n' Burn were finally counted out with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. It was found after the match that Crash n' Burn's tires were not sticking to the rims as well as expected, robbing them of valuable speed and maneuverability.

This loss put Crash n' Burn in the loser's bracket where they faced Vlad The Impaler II. To solve the wheel issues of the previous match, the pool-noodle filled tires were replaced with ones filled with expanding foam. Immediately this reaped dividends, giving Crash n' Burn much improved maneuverability, letting Crash get underneath Vlad The Impaler II and carry it into the arena wall. Crash backed away from the wall, allowing Burn to get under the much larger Vlad The Impaler II and take it into the wall itself, although this allowed Vlad The Impaler II to escape. Vlad The Impaler II and both of the multibots circled, the minibots even bumping nose-to-nose once, trying to get a good angle on eachother. Vlad The Impaler II retreated with Crash in hot pursuit. Both Crash and Burn took turns getting under and pushing around Vlad The Impaler II, who seemed unable to outmaneuver or overpower the two smaller robots. Once again Crash n' Burn pinned Vlad The Impaler II to the wall with both robots one after the other, after which Vlad The Impaler II noticeably began to slow down. Vlad The Impaler II took a brief opportunity to pin Burn to the wall, but was unable to for long and was promptly pinned to the wall again by the combined force of Crash n' Burn. After this, Burn and Vlad The Impaler II went head to head, Vlad The Impaler II going over top and onto Burn, with Crash bumping Vlad The Impaler II onto Burn's rear, allowing Burn to slam Vlad The Impaler II into the arena wall. Shortly after this, Burn became wedged under the arena wall, but time ran out before it could free itself. Still, the judges ruled unsurprisingly in favor of Crash n' Burn.

Next Crash n' Burn was matched against Boris Badenov. Crash was immediately flipped by Boris Badenov, but was able to right itself shortly afterwards. Burn was then also flipped but unable to right itself. Crash then proceeds to get under Boris Badenov and toasts the bottom of Boris Badenov with its flamethrower. Crash then started to push and shove Boris Badenov around the arena while Burn was finally able to right itself after a ram into Boris Badenov. Both parts of Crash n' Burn were able to get under Boris Badenov but not able to activate the flamethrowers. Boris Badenov started smoking shortly before the match ended. The judges scored the battle 19-14 in favor of Crash n' Burn. Crash n' Burn won this fight and advanced.

In the next round Crash n' Burn faced the legendary Megabyte. This fight was over in one hit as Crash box rushed Megabyte, causing it to ricochet into the wall and flipping it over. Crash then tries to toast the bottom of Megabyte but was unable to. Megabyte was struggling to self right and eventually its pole broke off and left it unable to self right. Megabyte was counted out and Shockingly, Crash n' Burn won this fight and advanced.

Crash n' Burn was then matched against Last Rites. Crash box rushes Last Rites which sends Last Rites out of control before Crash came in again with another slam. Crash stopped moving temporarily (Presumably high centered on the floor) and Burn started to be on the aggressive, but took massive hits which sent it into the corner and caused damage to its front wedge. Burn then taps Crash which frees Crash which immediately goes on the attack again. Despite Last Rites causing damage to one of Burn's wheels, Crash n' Burn were very aggressive on Last Rites not allowing it to have a chance to regain itself before becoming immobilized. Last Rites was counted out and Crash n' Burn won this fight in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament and advanced.

Crash n' Burn then faced Whiplash. Both bots starting jousting for positions with Crash doing a box rush at the start. However, things took a turn for the worse for Crash n' Burn as Burn was sent out of the arena by Whiplash. Crash was unable to get under Whiplash and started to run away as Whiplash rained down more hits and lifts on Crash. Smoke started to appear from Whiplash before the match was stopped temporarily due to unknown reasons (Presumably one of the teams accidentally hitting the tap out button). After the fight resumed, Whiplash landed more hits and minor lifts on Crash before Crash was stranded on its front. Crash n' Burn were counted out and Whiplash had won by knockout. Crash n' Burn lost this fight and were eliminated from the tournament placing 5th.

### RoboGames 2018

Crash n' Burn's first fight of RoboGames 2018 was against Robot Wars competitor Foxic.

Crash was able to easily get under at the start and shove Foxic around before Burn pinned Foxic against both of them and tried to use its flamethrower, however it was out of range to hit anything. Crash was then able to push Foxic into the wall and use its flamethrower which made something inside Foxic catch on fire which immobilized Foxic. Foxic tapped out which gave Crash n' Burn their first win of RoboGames 2018.

Crash n' Burn's next fight was against the feared Touro Maximus.

The start of the fight was fairly even as Touro Maximus was able to push around Crash n' Burn but was unable to use its drum. Crash 'n Burn were aggressive but unable to get under Touro Maximus nor push it around. Touro Maximus eventually got its drum working which tossed Crash into the air before attacking Burn and tossing it into the air twice, the second hit sending Burn almost into the roof. Crash n' Burn however were able to tank these hits but suffered some wheel damage. Touro Maximus got under Crash at one point and tried to use its drum but presumably was unable to spin it up as it was stuck against Crash and smoke started to emit from Touro Maximus. With around 30 seconds to go, Touro Maximus landed a massive hit which sent Crash into the roof and took out a whole set of lights. The match was stopped to clean up the debris. When the fight resumed, Touro Maximus had lost the chain to its drum and while trying to push Crash into the wall, Burn had came in from behind and pinned Touro Maximus against each other and activated the flamethrowers. Touro Maximus had a minor fire underneath the robot before the match ended in a close and amazing fight. Despite the late effort by Crash n' Burn, Touro Maximus won the fight 20-13 which knocked Crash n' Burn down into the Losers Bracket.

Crash n' Burn's next fight would be against veteran **Ragin' Scotsman**. Coming into the fight, Ragin' Scotsman was having issues with its flamethrower and opted to come in as just a pure wedge. The fight was mostly controlled by Ragin' Scotsman as it managed to slam both Crash and Burn into the wall multiple times which knocked the wheels loose on Crash n' Burn once again. Crash n' Burn were able to get under Ragin' Scotsman at times but were unable to capitalize on it and eventually ran out of fuel for their flamethrowers. The fight ended and Ragin' Scotsman had won the match on a 19-14 decision, eliminating Crash n' Burn from RoboGames 2018.

### Results

* Wins: 5
* Losses: 6