Wan Sandage Jr.

"Wan Sandage is really throwing his weight around on the track!"

- Dax Gazaway, a race announcer

The son of the Devlikk male Podracing pilot Wan Sandage, Wan Sandage Jr. picked up his father's fallen reigns after the elder's death. Flying his father's old Elsinore-Cordova Engineering TurboDyne 99-U Podracer, Sandage participated in the Podracing season of 24 BBY, joining in the Podracing Open and Hutt Championships circuits. Even though not always recognizable as his own being, sometimes being confused for his father, Sandage nonetheless went out to make a name for himself, gaining popularity on a race course located on the planet of Sullust known as Serres Sarrano. He went on to gain various course records for best single lap and most knockouts during a single race on the planets of Gamorr, Ryloth, and Tatooine.

Biography
"Watch the wreckage and debris in here, this'll be tight!"

- Dax Gazaway describing the Serres Sarrano race course

The son of the Devlikk playboy and Podracer pilot Wan Sandage, Wan Sandage Jr. took up the Podracing lifestyle of his father after the elder succumbed to senility. Piloting the very same Elsinore-Cordova Engineering TurboDyne 99-U Podracer that his father had, Sandage joined into the Podracing season of 24 BBY, entering the intermediate Podracing Open circuit and the more advanced Hutt Championships, despite being very much an amateur. New to the sport, Sandage was out to prove himself, and was out to do it fast. However, too often did he find himself engaging in deadly scrapes and rough conflicts with other racers on the courses. His aggressive play and eagerness to win, however, earned him some praise on the Outer Rim world of Sullust, where Sandage was promoted to the stature of track favorite for a course that wove through the Sullustan city of Serres Sarrano, a track that was the first event of the Hutt Championships. Despite his popularity on the track, many fans of Podracing did not realize that Wan Sandage Jr. was not, in fact, his father. Only to the keen eyes of the more hardcore fans of Podracing was the difference between father and son recognizable.

Throughout the Podracing Open, Wan Sandage Jr. found himself rising through the statistics. His aggressive play became evident on Ryloth, where, for the Brightlands racecourse, Sandage obtained the highest overall record for vehicle knockouts during a single race, standing with four total knockouts. His piloting abilities on the other hand were more noticeable on the desert planet of Tatooine, where he scored the second top time for a single lap on the track known as the Badlands, standing with a time of 01:13.92 minutes. For the Ballast Complex course on Mon Calamari, Sandage scored the third top single lap time for the course, standing at 01:17.03 minutes. The final course of the Podracing Open was the Gamorr racetrack known as the Ruins of Carnuss Gorgull. The track favorite for this course was the aggressive Ghishi pilot Kraid Nemmeso, who topped the knockout chart for the track, with a total of five knockouts. Wan Sandage Jr., however, stood right below Nemmeso on the standings, with a total of three knockouts. Moving into the Hutt Championships, the Devlikk held no records for of any of the courses, including the Serres Sarrano course where he was most popular. Wan Sandage Jr. also competed through 22 BBY, going up against many of the competitors that his father had including Aldar Beedo, who had once worked for the elder Sandage, Clegg Holdfast, and Dud Bolt. The Toydarian junk dealer named Watto, who had sold parts to Podracers pilots including both Sandages, was also leading his own Podracing team known as Team Watto. The season visited regular course locations such as Tatooine, but also expanded into worlds such as Felucia and Coruscant. Much like the 24 BBY season, Wan Sandage Jr. was known simply as Wan Sandage on the track.

Personality and traits
Wan Sandage Jr. was a thrill seeker like his father, who followed the elder Sandage's footsteps and mounted up as a daring Podracer pilot. However, the young Devlikk was almost too eager to prove himself on the courses, and constantly found himself in over his head when getting into dangerous scraps with other pilots. Sandage eventually took control of his piloting, however, and managed to turn his knack for getting into scrapes into an aggressive tendency that found himself making it onto the knockout charts.

Sandage bore a very close resemblance to his father, with a very similar shade of fur color and the same green plumage that ringed his neck and topped his head. Sandage had orange eyes and long, lanky arms that ended in sharp claws.

Skills and abilities
As a pilot, Wan Sandage Jr. showed notable skill on the Podracing courses, racking up both speed and knockout records during his career thanks to his keen reflexes and agility, which allowed Sandage to successfully traverse the hazardous obstacles and terrain that professional Podracing courses often presented. Sandage was also one to involve himself with in-race scraps, but was able to escape any lasting damage.

Behind the scenes
Wan Sandage Jr. first appeared in the 2002 PlayStation 2 video game Star Wars: Racer Revenge as a playable character. In the game the character is simply referred to as Wan Sandage. It wasn't until the game's strategy guide was it revealed that he was actually the son of the character who appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and not the same. The guide also presented the character's full name as Wan Sandage Jr. In the game, Sandage is voiced by Gregg Berger, who also provided the voice for Tzidik Wrantojo.

A Podracer named Wan Sandage also appeared in the 2012 Xbox 360 video game Kinect Star Wars, appearing as a computer controlled opponent during Podraces. However, as the Podracing segment takes place during 22 BBY, this Wan Sandage cannot be the elder Sandage, as he had died beforehand. The fact that he wasn't referred to as 'Jr.', however, can be attributed to how the character was referred to in Racer Revenge.

The rough draft and first draft of Star Wars contained a character named Count Sandage, a noble at the court of King Kayos on Aquilae. He counsels the king to yield to the Galactic Empire, and later betrays the royal family to Darth Vader. Count Sandage was omitted from later drafts, but the name was later reused by George Lucas for the Podracer Wan Sandage. As such, the name and history behind it was passed down to Wan Sandage Jr.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Kinect Star Wars