When I was a young man, nearly 20-years ago, my father took me to see the 68th
Boonta Eve classic on the Outer Rim planet of Tatooine. There was almost
nothing my father loved more than podracing, and there was nothing quite like
seeing a race live. Twice he travelled to Malastare, once to Cantonica, but his
favorite was the Mos Espa circuit (and rightly so)
Mos Espa was the pinnacle of podracing circuits. In only 5-minutes racers would
have to conquer canyons known as The Whip, Jett's Chute, the Corkscrew, Jag
Crag Gorge, and the dangerous Laguna Cave. But those weren’t the only dangers.
Tusken Raiders would wait on the outskirts to take potshots at unlucky racers.
And some pilots concealed illegal weapons and would wait for a hidden bend to
take out their competition.
The
Boonta Eve classic was the biggest race of the season and the 68th Boonta Eve
classic 20 years back was considered the best race in modern memory. It was the
race which saw a young human named Anakin Skywalker take out the Dug racer,
Sebulba, in the closing seconds. You can’t imagine the roar of the crowd after
the local slave crossed that finish line. That was a glorious day in a golden
era.
That
was 20-years ago. In these dark times, however, there is no more podracing. The
Empire has cracked down on the sport. The 81st Boonta Eve classic, seven years
ago, turned out to be the last. The courses on Malastare have been dismantled.
The great podracers have gone underground, though some say the lower levels of
coruscant still host some off-the-book competitions.
And
here I find myself, no longer a young man. My father is dead and my planet
suffers under Imperial occupation. We are not free, but our hearts still
remember a time when we were. For me that Boonta Eve classic, two decades ago,
is the moment I hold on to. I imagine my father and I cheering for those pods,
the roaring engines kicking up sand, and my father’s smiling eyes, not really
watching the race, his gaze fixed on my elation. I still love you, Dad, I
always will.
The Aliens of Podracing
Dug
Dugs
were recognized for their tendency to walk on their arms, while their feet were
used for manipulating objects. They hailed from Malastare, a planet where they
co-existed with the Gran. The planet’s core was also rich with fuel and many
Dugs worked in refineries. The planet was also famous for creating the sport of
podracing and Dugs were adept at the sport due to their natural strength and
reflexes.
Sebulba
was a famous dug podracer in the Boonta Eve Classic. Sebulba's Podracer
featured two Collar Pondrat Plug-F Mammoth Split-X engines. It’s weapons
included Flamethrowers, a Buzz Saw, and a Nail Shooter (although weapons were
almost always illegal in podraces).
Xexto
The
Xexto were a six-limbed race, long-necked species from the planet woodland
planet of Troiken. Many Xexto were employed as smugglers or pickpockets. They
were adept as using many weapons including slingshots.
Gasgano
was a popular Xexto podracer. His many limbs aided him in becoming adept at the
sport. Gasgano flew the Ord Pedrovia podracer model, which he designed himself.
It had a maximum speed of 823 km/h. Ultimately Gasgano finished second in the
Boonta Eve classic, right behind Anakin Skywalker.
Nosaurian
Nosaurians
are a short species with a crown of horns located on the top of their heads.
Nosaurians were regarded as a grumpy species, probably due to the fact that
they disliked speaking basic and preferred to communicate in their own
language, which consisted of unpleasant hisses and barks. The Nosaurian
homeworld featured many dark forests, swamps, and jungles. As an interesting
defense mechanism, Nosaurians could emit a bright green flash from their
mouths, which was so bright it could temporarily blind predators or enemies.
Clegg
Holdfast was a popular Nosaurian podracer who also worked as a journalist for
“Podracing Quarterly”. Holdfest piloted a Voltec KT9 Wasp model of podracer
which utilized KVT-Series 400 fanjet engines. Holdfast crashed in the second
lap of the race. Though he survived, his podracer did not.
Aleena
The
Aleena were a small blue species who lived on a planet with many natural
predators. The species had exceptional reflexes, which they used to escape
these predators. The Aleena were known for being friendly, peaceful, curious,
and well-travelled.
Ratts
Tyerell was an Aleena podracer that was much loved on his home planet. Ratts
Tyerell’s racer was called the Scatalpen (named after a large predator of
Aleen) and was equipped with two Titan 2150 rocket engines. Tyerell had a
grudge against Sebulba’s tendency to cheat in races, so Tyerell had his pod
modified to include weapons so he could take out Sebulba during the Boonta Eve
Classic. This plan would not come to fruition, because Tyrell lost his life
crashing into stalactites during the first lap of the race.
Toong
The
Toong are a shy and timid species from the remote planet of Tund in the outer
rim. Their heads are notably large and yellow and three antenna protrude from
their heads.
A
Toong named Ben Quadinaros entered the Boonta Eve Classic after making a bet
with the Sneevel, Boles Roor. Ben Quadinaros’ podracer was a BT310
quadra-Podracer with four engines, however the racer’s power couplings
malfunctioned before he even crossed the starting line.
Fluggrian
Fluggrians
lived on the watery planet of Ploo IV in cities that floated oceans. Underwater
transit tubes connected the cities to each other. When Fluggarians first
developed space travel, they came into contact with the Glymphids, who lived on
Ploo II. The two species almost instantly hated each other and perpetual war
broke out.
Elan
Mak was the Fluggiran podracer who considered himself to be mortal enemies with
the Gymphid pilot, Aldar Beedo. Mak’s podracer was a KRT 410C which sported
retro-styled asymmetrical engine housings. Elan Mak finished 5th in the Boonta
Eve Classic.
Er’Kit
Er’Kit
were a blue-grey species, slightly taller than humans. Their desert homeworld
was plagued by political scandal, slave trading, and violence. Many Er’Kit
emigrated away from their home planet to other desert world’s such as Tatooine.
Ody Mandrell was an Er’Kit born on Tatooine who started podracing at a young
age. He was a mere teenager during the Boonta Eve Classic. Ody’s racer sported
twin XL 5115 engines, but his engines were ultimately destroyed during a
pitstop.
Nuknog
The
heads of the Nuknog species may look large, but they had surprisingly small
brains. They also were a gullible race, who unwittingly sold their home planet
to a mining consortium. Many members of the species were known to have short
tempers. Though Nuknog had a hard time thinking creatively, they did excell at
complex technical tasks.
Ark
Roose was a Nuknog podracer who was known for his aggressive tactics which
earned him the nickname “Bumpy”. Ark’s racer included two Plug-8G 927 Cluster
Array engines (each of which was really a cluster of eight engines for a grand
total of sixteen individual engines). Ark’s racer crashed late in the race
while bumping pods with Vulptereen named Dud Bolt.
Bardottan
Bardottans
were a long-necked snout-sporting species from the Colonies region of the
Galaxy, just beyond the Core Worlds. Bardottans were traditionally a war-like
species until a group of Force-Sensative Bardottans rose to power and
established a society of education and peace.
Mars
Guo was a Bardottan podracer who participated in the Boonta Eve Classic. Though
Guo quickly rose through the minor rim leagues, many did not expect him to do
well at Boonta Eve. Guo surprised spectators when his Plug-2 Behemoth engines
helped him maintain the second place position for much of the race. Yet this
annoyed Sebulba, who tossed a piece of scrap into Guo’s engines. Guo’s racer
was totalled, though Guo survived the incident.
Devlikk
The
feathered species known as Devlikks were native to the planet Ord Radama. The
cities of this planet were labyrinths of streets and passageways that
off-worlders found impossible to navigate. The Devlikk, however were aided by
an innate magnetic sense. The species had notably short legs and were notably
short lived. The average lifespan was between 9-10 years.
Wan
Sandage was a Devlikk podracer who used twin TurboDyne 99-U engines. During the
Boonta Eve Classic Sandage sought to hire a racer named Aldar Beedo to take out
Sebulba. However, the plot failed and Sandage finished the race by crashing
into a Jawa Sandcrawler. His son, Wan Sandage Jr. would eventually grow up to
be a podracer, following in his father’s footsteps.
Troig
The
Troig are a two-headed species from the Core world of Pollillus. The two heads
of the Troig each had their own names and personalities, though the names were
often combined to refer to the Troig as a whole. Having two heads gave Troig
some unique advantages. They were proficient at multitasking, being aware of
their surroundings and keeping an eye out for danger.
Fodesinbeed
Annodue was the Troig that served as commentator for the Boonta Eve Classic
podrace on Tatooine. Fode, the green head, announced the race in Galactic Basic
and Beed, the red head, provided commentary to Huttese speakers. There are
rumors that many years later Fodesinbeed announced races for a refueling
platform on Castilon, but these rumors remain unsubstantiated.
Star Wars Aliens
The Aliens of the Cantina
The Aliens of “The Empire Strikes Back"
The Aliens of Jabba’s Palace
The Aliens of Max Rebo’s Band
The Aliens of the Battle of Endor
Flipping Heads
The Aliens of Attack of the Clones
The Aliens of Revenge of the Sith
Aliens of Podracing
Aliens of Ralph McQuarrie
Aliens of Rogue One
Aliens of The Last Jedi
Aliens of Endor
The Most Obscure Aliens of the Original Trilogy
Aliens of the Mandalorian
Bonus Aliens
The Five Subspecies of Nikto
Aliens of Star Trek
