Boonta Eve Classic/Legends

"The Boonta is far more dangerous than any amateur race I've flown!"

- Ben Quadinaros

The Boonta Eve Classic was the largest annual podrace in the galaxy. Held on the planet of Tatooine, it was hosted by the Hutts to commemorate the Boonta's Eve holiday. Located just outside Mos Espa, the Boonta race course started in the Mos Espa Grand Arena. There, thousands of spectators would congregate, hoping to see their favored racer win, to catch a glimpse of a spectacular collision, or to win a fortune gambling on the race's outcome.

The Ceremony
The formal race ceremony started with a parade of flag-bearers; each carried a racer's distinctive emblem, and lined up before the starting grid. Once the bearers cleared the grid, the Podracers' massive engines would roar to life, seemingly anxious at the chance to soar at speeds exceeding 700 kilometers-per-hour.

The Mos Espa circuit
The Mos Espa course blazed out of the arena onto the Starlite Flats, an easy stretch of desert where aggressive Podracers jockeyed for strong starting positions. The racers had to line up in single file to enter the curving canyon that cuts through the Waldo Flats. This opened up into Mushroom Mesa, a rocky expanse dominated by immense bulbous rock formations. Metta Drop, a sudden escarpment, dropped the racers onto Ebe Crater Valley, where they again had to navigate a narrow opening (the Notch) to enter Beggar's Canyon.

The race then continued onto a length of desert plains abutting the Dune Sea. One of the most hazardous areas&mdash;Arch Canyon&mdash;forced pilots to maneuver through stone wickets before entering another series of canyons, including the Whip, Jag Crag Gorge, and the subterranean Laguna Cave. Emerging from the caves, the pilots careened through the tight Canyon Dune Turn, known to be a campsite for vengeful Sand people.

Podracers that survived potshots from the Sand People then had to dodge the rocky obstacles in Bindy Bend before entering the last stretch of canyon, which included the Coil, Jett's Chute, and the Corkscrew.

Exiting the Corkscrew via the Devil's Doorknob, the pilots emerged onto the Hutt Flats, a broad featureless expanse that led back to the arena. This entire circuit represented one lap, and the Boonta Eve Classic required three laps for completion, with an average time of 5 minutes, 20 seconds for each lap.

Commentaries were made by Fodesinbeed, a popular commentator in the sport.

The race of 32 BBY
"Oh, I don't care what universe you're from. That's gotta hurt!"

- Fodesinbeed Annodue

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 Laguna Cave, Tyerell's accelerator blew, and the Aleena crashed and died. 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 opposite 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. Anakin accelerated over Gasgano's pod, and he 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, whom 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.

During the events precipitating the Battle of Naboo, young Anakin Skywalker participated in a fateful Boonta Eve Classic race. Sponsored by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin entered his custom-built podracer into the cutthroat competition. 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.

Race results of 32 BBY

 * 1st place: Anakin Skywalker ( 15.42:655 ; 858 km/h)
 * 2nd place: Gasgano (15.48:557 ; 850 km/h)
 * 3rd place: Aldar Beedo (15.52:108 ; 845 km/h)
 * 4th place: Ebe Endocott (16.04:994 ; 827 km/h)
 * 5th place: Elan Mak (16.10:737 ; 819 km/h)
 * 6th place: Boles Roor (16.42:473 ; 781 km/h)

Casualties

 * Possibly Neva Kee
 * Ratts Tyerell

Legacy
Many years later, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo visited the site of the race while on a mission on Tatooine and even purchased a holocube of Anakin Skywalker from his friend, Kitster Banai, photographed shortly after his victory. The Boonta Eve Classic was also featured in one of Shmi Skywalker Lars's diary entries that Leia found on the old Skywalker homestead.

Behind the scenes
In the audio commentary on the Episode I DVD, visual effects supervisor John Knoll points out that in a shot of the scene of Sebulba riding just behind Anakin, with Anakin's head nearly in the connecting current between the pod engines, it is possible to see that Sebulba is not present in his pod.

Appearances

 * Episode I Adventures 6: The Hunt for Anakin Skywalker
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Racer Rush
 * Podracing Tales
 * Episode I: Anakin Skywalker
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Episode I: Qui-Gon Jinn
 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Dear Anakin
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Episode I: The Phantom Menace ½
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: Republic: Outlander
 * Star Wars: Republic: Emissaries to Malastare
 * Rogue Planet
 * Jedi Quest: The Dangerous Games
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Crash Course
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
 * Rebel Force: Target
 * Rebel Force: Renegade
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Tempest
 * Exile
 * Tempest
 * Exile