EXCLUSIVE by Tom Jackson A FATHER and son team have laid claim to building the best robot combat machine in the country, after winning four tournaments in a row in style. Gilbert and Robert Grimm s robot, Iron-Awe 5, has now gone 18 bouts without losin

EXCLUSIVE by Tom Jackson

A FATHER and son team have laid claim to building the best robot combat machine in the country, after winning four tournaments in a row in style.

Gilbert and Robert Grimm's robot, Iron-Awe 5, has now gone 18 'bouts' without losing - with the robot's only ever defeat caused by a mechanical fault.

The unbeaten run is the equivalent of winning the former TV game show Robot Wars two years running.

Gilbert and Robert, of High Road, Gorefield, started building robots in 2000 after watching Robot Wars.

Gilbert said: "It has taken us a long time to get there but we are currently very, very good.

"It's thanks to the design of the robot and the fact that my son Robert is a very good driver of the robot."

Iron-Awe 5 - an improved version of their previous fighter Iron-Awe 3 - won third place on its first outing in the UK Championship last year. A mechanical fault destroyed any chances of winning on its debut outing.

"But, as soon as we put that problem right, we have not lost a single battle," said Gilbert.

Team Iron-Awe has since racked up four title wins in succession in tournaments held across the country, with most of their bouts being won by throwing their opponent out of a battle arena thanks to a very powerful flipper.

Gilbert said: "To win four tournaments in a row is quite phenomenal. As far as I am aware, it has never been done before."

But development of the robot hasn't stopped there, with the Grimms in the process of improving the power of the flipper even more.