Boonta Eve Classic (32 BBY)

"Oh, I don't care what universe you're from. That's gotta hurt!"

- Fodesinbeed Annodue

The Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY was a podrace commemorating the Boonta's Eve. The event was hosted by Jabba Desilijic Tiure and commentated by Fodesinbeed, and held at Mos Espa Grand Arena at Tatooine.

Prelude to the Race
Only a few days before, Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi had to land the royal starship of Queen Padme Amidala on the planet of Tatooine. After discovering that the only way to obtain a replacement hyperdrive generator was to pay with Tatooine currency, Jinn found the young boy Anakin Skywalker in Watto's shop. Jinn met Anakin's mother, Shmi, and Anakin eagerly offered to use his podracer in the race, to obtain the parts needed for the Naboo ship, if he won.

Qui-Gon also worked out a deal, that if Anakin won the race, he would have his freedom.

The Race


When the start lights flashed green, all pilots hit the thrusters and sped away, except for two, Anakin Skywalker and Ben Quadinaros. Anakin managed to get his pod working and soon followed the rest of the racers. In the meanwhile, Sebulba had pushed Mawhonic's podracer into the cliff wall, destroying his pod. Mawhonic survived the crash and he put a bounty on at least two members of Sebulba´s family, the bounty was claimed by Jango Fett. Anakin moved up by overtaking Wan Sandage, Neva Kee, Dud Bolt, and Clegg Holdfast. As the racers approached Laguna Cave, Anakin raced past Boles Roor and Ebe Endocott moving up behind Ratts Tyerell. In the Laguna Cave, Tyerell crashed into a stalactite, and was killed upon impact. Exiting the cave, Anakin's pod was shot at by Tusken Raiders. Meanwhile Ben Quadinaros's pod further malfunctioned as the power couplings deactivated. This resulted in the pod flying apart as the engines tore off in multiple directions, grounding Quadinaros. In the meanwhile, the first five podracers passed the finish: Sebulba, Gasgano, Ody Mandrell, Teemto Pagalies, and Aldar Beedo. Mandrell took a pit stop in which his pit droid DUM-4 destroyed his left engine.

In the second lap, Sebulba used an illegal hidden flamethrower to roast the engines of Clegg Holdfast, causing Holdfast to lose control and crash into the canyon wall. Meanwhile, Anakin was behind Gasgano, and when he tried to go around him, Gasgano went in the same direction, blocking him. This happened again twice until they came to a ramp, where Anakin seized the chance and boosted in mid-air, getting past Gasgano. He also avoided being destroyed by Teemto Pagalies when a bug flew into his eye. After passing Aldar Beedo, Anakin moved up to third place, behind Mars Guo. Sebulba tossed a piece of metal in Guo's colossal engine, destroying it. Guo crashed, and a piece of wreckage took out one of Anakin's cables. Anakin was overtaken by Gasgano, Teemto Pagalies, and Ark Roose while he fixed the cable. He then raced by the three that had overtaken him. Now behind Sebulba, Anakin sped through the Canyon Dune Turn, where his pod took another shot from the Tuskens. Teemto Pagalies, wasn't so lucky, as his pod's fuel tank took a hit, causing him to crash. The Tusken Raiders shot Jawas that were picking up some parts from Pagalie's podracer. Sebulba attempted to use his flamethrower on Anakin, but he avoided it. Neva Kee wandered off course in the second lap in Hutt Flats, never to be seen again.



In the third lap, Anakin and Sebulba were racing side-by-side, for nearly the entire lap. A little bumping in Beggar's Canyon forced Anakin onto a service ramp where he fell a little behind. A quick control thrust allowed Anakin to leap over Sebulba to take the lead heading into Arch Canyon. The lead was short-lived as Anakin was forced to deal with a malfunctioning engine due to Sebulba's sabotage prior to the race. He fell behind as he made on-the-fly repairs. Some other racers crashed during the third lap, like Dud Bolt and Ark Roose, who collided with each other, destroying both pods. And Wan Sandage lost control and crashed into a wayward Sandcrawler. After getting his engine running, Anakin sped forward and caught Sebulba before entering the Hutt Flats at the Devil's Doorknob. At the end of the lap, Anakin and Sebulba's cockpits became entangled. Anakin used a boost to cut them loose, and Sebulba's engines detached and crashed. Anakin took the victory and was awarded the Boonta Cup.

Anakin Skywalker's triumph
"It's Skywalker!"

- Fodesinbeed as Anakin crosses the finishing line.

Even though the odds favored the scheming Sebulba as a victor, the Force was with Anakin, and he came in first. It was a stunning upset to the longstanding Dug champion. He became the first human to win the race. Anakin won more than the race; the young slave also won his freedom.

Almost seventy years later, the bounty hunter Aurra Sing recalled that Anakin won the race by breaking no rules, in a race with no rules.

Behind the scenes
The Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization, written by Terry Brooks and published just before the release of the film in 1999 states that racers Obitoki, Habba Kee, and Xelbree competed in this race. In the novel, Obitoki and Habba Kee die in a crash caused by Sebulba and they appear in the script in the same context, but neither makes an appearance in the film itself. Additionally, Episode I: Incredible Cross-Sections establishes that eighteen racers qualified and competed in the Boonta Eve Classic, but these three are not on the provided list. This article thereby treats Obitoki's appearance in the novel as ambiguously canonical. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia was released in 2008. Its entry on Obitoki confirms the existence of Kee and Obitoki and their crash, but it leaves the wreck's occurrence during the Boonta and their deaths ambiguous. Xelbree also received a mention in that reference book.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace: Illustrated Screenplay

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace