The Road to Episode Infinity: Boonta Eve Classic 20th Anniversary

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

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-aliens-of-cantina_1.html

The Aliens of “The Empire Strikes Back"

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-aliens-of-empire-strikes-back-what.html

The Aliens of Jabba’s Palace

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/07/aliens-of-jabbas-palace.html

The Aliens of Max Rebo’s Band

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-aliens-of-max-rebos-band.html

The Aliens of the Battle of Endor

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-aliens-of-battle-of-endor.html

Flipping Heads