Podracer (profession)

This article is about the professional pilots. You may be looking for the identically named repulsorlift craft they operate.

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"Are the pilots always so small?"
"Yes, to cut down on the weight the pod has to carry. These craft go over five hundred miles per hour, Ahsoka. Podracing is not for the faint-hearted."

―Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker^[2]

A Podracer was a pilot who flew Podracers for sport. A type of racer, these pilots were largely non-Humans.

Overview

"With those gangly limbs, you'd never fit into a podracer! You're not a child any more, you know, Jedi—so I will race your Padawan instead of you."

―Drez Unlin, to Anakin Skywalker^[3]

The history of Podracing was lost to history, as it evolved from hundreds of different racing sports developed on uncountable worlds across the Outer Rim Territories. When Podracing modernized circa 100 BBY, the Podracers themselves had been standardized by the racer Gustab Wenbus. A type of repulsorlift craft, called pods for short, Podracing was dangerous and Podracers were known for their fearlessness and ability. Podracers weren't just racers, but also mechanics responsible for building and maintaining their own Podracers.^[1]

A unique culture developed around the sport and the racers who dared to participate. Racers developed a reputation for being roguish outlaws with a swagger that intimidated some and riled others looking for a fight. Rugged and self-made, similar to the gladiators and warriors of the past, Podracers spat in the face of death. Master engineers, skilled with their tools, and thrill seekers, these individuals competed at both the professional and amateur levels across the galaxy despite the sport's illegality.^[1]

Most Podracers were of small species, such as Fluggrian, and the more dexterous they were, the more easily they could control their pods. They were almost entirely non-Human, the demands of piloting the craft not being suited to the Human frame. Multilimbed species like Xexto, or dexterous ones like the Dugs, were the most capable Podracers. The young Human Anakin Skywalker was the first Human to win a race, in 32 BBY, and among only a handful of his kind to ever compete in the big leagues.^[1]