Star Wars Galactic Racer: Best Podracer Build

TL;DR

• Podracers are the fastest vehicles in the game — reaching speeds around 1,000 km/h versus roughly 600 km/h for regular speeders.
• Podracers race in their own dedicated events only — they cannot compete against Landspeeders, Speeder Bikes, or Skim Speeders.
• Best Podracer for Podracing Tour: Ody Mandrell (Redliner style, scales best with upgrades).
• Best Podracer for Quick Play / Arcade: Dud Bolt (straight-line speed advantage).
• Upgrade priority: Ramjet → Cornering → Afterburner → Resilience → Battery.
• Best Ability: Surge / Overtaking Surge II — focus on pure speed, not aggression.
• Multiplayer Podracing unlocks at Multiplayer Rank 5, giving access to all six pilots at once.

How Podracers Work in Star Wars Galactic Racer

Podracers are their own separate class in Star Wars Galactic Racer. They do not share races with the three standard speeder types. Every Podracer event is dedicated Podracer-only — that means you will never line up against a Landspeeder or Skim Speeder in the same race. The gap in speed explains why: Podracers push speeds of around 1,000 km/h, far beyond what regular speeders can match.

Each of the six Podracer pilots has identical base stats. What separates them is a positive trait and a negative trait unique to each pilot. These traits shape how each Podracer handles in specific situations, and picking the right one for your context — Tour versus Quick Play — makes a genuine difference to your results.

Podracers do not use the same Racer Style system as the regular speeders. Instead, the pilot you choose determines your Racer Style, which is fixed to that character. This means choosing your pilot is the single most important build decision in Podracing.

For context on how Podracer tracks fit into the wider game, our all planets and tracks guide covers the two Tatooine circuits — Mos Espa Speedway and Hunk of Junk — which are the only tracks in the game exclusive to the Podracer class.

How to Unlock Podracing in Star Wars Galactic Racer

There are several ways to access Podracers depending on which mode you are in:

Campaign

Podracing arrives in two separate stages during the Campaign story:

• Act 2 — Tales of Podracing: Find Sebulba in the settlement during Act 2. Talking to him unlocks his flashback memories, where you play as a younger Sebulba racing against his rivals in his iconic Podracer. Complete all races in the Tales of Podracing quest to finish this stage.
• Act 3 — Your own Podracer: After Kestar Bool steals Sebulba’s upgraded Podracer at the end of Act 2, Sebulba offers you his spare. Hibi fits it out for you, and you take it on a test flight called “Hunk of Junk” on Tatooine to fully unlock it. From here, Sebulba sends you on Podracer Challenges — one-on-one races against his old rivals — across every planet in Act 3.

Note: Campaign Podracer events do not use the full build system. Parts are adapted by Hibi, but the campaign Podracer runs differently to the Podracing Tour. The final race of the Campaign pits Shade against Kestar Bool in a full Podracer showdown.

Arcade Mode

Podracing is available in Arcade immediately, with no unlock required. You can try any of the six pilots in standalone events including the Boonta Eve Classic circuits — a good way to test each pilot before committing to a build in Tour mode.

Multiplayer Podracing Tour

Reach Multiplayer Rank 5 to unlock the Podracing Tour. All six pilots unlock simultaneously at that point — Ben Quadinaros, Dud Bolt, Gasgano, Ody Mandrell, Sebulba, and Teemto Pagalies. You do not unlock them individually. The Podracing Tour is an 8-player, five-race event where you upgrade your Podracer between races, similar to the standard Multiplayer Tour structure. To know more about unlocking multiplayer characters, see our guide on how to unlock all multiplayer racers.

All 6 Podracers — Traits and Tier List

Every pilot has the same base stats. Their differences come entirely from one positive trait and one negative trait. Here is how each one breaks down:

Dud Bolt — Best for Quick Play and Arcade

• Positive — Optimised Nozzles: While on a straight, Afterburner power and top speed are increased.
• Negative — Draggy Control Surfaces: While cornering, top speed is reduced.

Dud Bolt is the fastest Podracer on straights in the game. His Afterburner boost on open sections is unmatched, and on a track like Mos Espa Speedway with its long classic podracing lines, that straight-line advantage becomes decisive. The trade-off is cornering — he loses top speed mid-turn, which makes tighter technical sections harder. In Quick Play and Arcade where you do not upgrade between races, Dud Bolt’s raw pace advantage is most visible. In a Tour, where upgrades and Parts can address his cornering weakness, he becomes more competitive but still trails Ody Mandrell in the upgrade scaling race.

Sebulba — Best for Contact Racing

• Positive — Built for Battle: Vehicle collisions result in lower received damage and higher given damage.
• Negative — Old Dog, Old Tricks: Afterburner tank refills at a reduced rate.

Sebulba is the most durable and dangerous Podracer in close quarters. His collision trait lets him bully rivals more effectively than any other pilot — he takes less damage when hit and dishes out more in return. This mirrors exactly how Sebulba races in the films, and it is satisfying to play. The downside is his Afterburner refill rate, which means you cannot spam the safer boost as freely. In Quick Play his combat edge is valuable; in Tour mode his contact advantage becomes less decisive once everyone has defensive Parts and Abilities, which is why he drops from A-tier in Quick Play to B-tier in Tours.

Ben Quadinaros — Best Cornering in Tour

• Positive — Double Control Surfaces: Vehicle drag is reduced, improving cornering significantly.
• Negative — Complex Interlocks: Vehicle collisions result in higher received damage.

Ben Quadinaros is the cornering specialist. His drag reduction gives him cleaner, faster lines through bends than most other pilots manage, and his handling at speed is excellent. The big weakness is his fragility in contact — he takes more damage in collisions than any other pilot. That matters more in quick races where you cannot buff Resilience, and less in Tours where Resilience upgrades and Shield abilities can compensate. He ranks A-tier in Tour play and is a strong all-round choice for players who want to win through clean, fast driving rather than aggression.

Ody Mandrell — Best for Podracing Tour Overall

• Positive — Overbuilt Engines + Extra Fuel: Comes with the Redliner Racer Style and the Surge Ability pre-installed. While Redlining, Ramjet power is boosted further.
• Negative — Heavy Chassis: Slightly reduced agility compared to other pilots.

Ody Mandrell is the best pilot for the Podracing Tour and the recommended choice for the best Podracer build overall. His pre-equipped Redliner style and Surge Ability give him a compounding speed advantage that scales harder with upgrades than any other pilot. The moment Ramjet enters the Redline zone, Ody’s Overbuilt Engines kick in for an additional power boost on top of what Redliner already provides. Running Ramjet on Ody is not just fast — it is significantly faster than on any other pilot. In the Tour’s upgrade-between-races structure, that scaling is what separates him from the field by the championship final.

Gasgano — Energy Efficiency in Tours

• Positive — Energy Surplus: Afterburner power is increased and the Afterburner tank refills at a faster rate.
• Negative — Fragile Frame: Higher damage received in collisions.

Gasgano’s faster Afterburner refill means he can use the safe boost more frequently than other pilots — it is effectively never off-cooldown for long. This makes him very strong on tracks with repeated short straights where Afterburner is more useful than holding a sustained Ramjet. He is A-tier in Tour mode for this energy efficiency reason. His fragility mirrors Ben Quadinaros’s weakness, so if you run Gasgano, invest in Resilience and Shield early.

Teemto Pagalies — Agile but Niche

• Positive — Bleeding-Edge Tech: Afterburner power and turning capability are both increased, making him more agile in corners.
• Negative — Compromised Stability: Reduced performance in direct collisions and contact situations.

Teemto Pagalies is the most agile Podracer, with improved Afterburner and cornering in a single trait. He is fun to fly on technical tracks, but his niche benefits only fully show on specific track layouts. He is B-tier across both modes — decent, but outclassed by Dud Bolt on straights and Ody Mandrell in Tours.

For the full tier list with more detail on each pilot’s strengths per mode, see our dedicated best Podracers in Star Wars Galactic Racer guide.

Best Podracer Pilot: Ody Mandrell (Podracing Tour) / Dud Bolt (Quick Play)

The best pilot depends entirely on the mode:

• Podracing Tour: Ody Mandrell — his Redliner style and Surge Ability pre-installed, plus the Overbuilt Engines Ramjet bonus, mean he scales further and faster than any other pilot as Parts and upgrades accumulate across five races.
• Quick Play and Arcade: Dud Bolt — in a no-upgrade environment, his straight-line Afterburner power is the most decisive single advantage available. His cornering weakness matters less when you only need to survive one race without building a loadout.

Best Upgrades for the Podracer

The Podracer’s stat upgrades follow the same general structure as regular speeders, but with slightly different priorities given the class’s extreme speed and large hitbox:

Priority 1 — Ramjet

Ramjet is the most impactful stat in competitive Podracing. Podracers already have extraordinary speed from their Afterburner — Ramjet is what separates the fast pilots from the field-dominating ones. On Ody Mandrell with the Redliner style, each upgrade to Ramjet directly feeds his Overbuilt Engines trait, compounding the speed benefit. Invest here first every single Tour run and in any permanent Tuning Points you apply to your Podracer build.

Priority 2 — Cornering

Podracers have large hitboxes. Tight tunnels, narrow canyon passes, and sharp corners on the Tatooine circuits all punish imprecise lines more harshly than on regular speeder tracks. Cornering upgrades tighten your racing line and reduce the chance of clipping a wall at 900 km/h, which at Podracer speeds usually means immediately losing several positions. This is the stat that makes the difference between a fast Podracer and a Podracer that actually finishes cleanly.

Priority 3 — Afterburner

Afterburner is your safe speed option — it recharges continuously, carries no overheat risk, and is especially important on tracks that do not offer clear long straights for Ramjet use. Upgrading Afterburner raises the top speed you can hold between Ramjet activations, which on Podracing tracks where you are constantly alternating between boost modes is a consistent pace improvement. On Dud Bolt specifically, Afterburner is even more important given his Optimised Nozzles trait making every straight section a speed multiplier.

Priority 4 — Resilience

Podracers have large hitboxes compared to the standard speeders. That means walls, rival pilots, and track hazards find you more easily. Resilience upgrades reduce how much damage each collision does — on the fragile pilots like Ben Quadinaros and Gasgano, this is an early priority rather than a late one. Even on the more durable Sebulba, Resilience investment helps protect your run on enclosed circuits. On Ody Mandrell, Resilience is a secondary priority after Ramjet and Cornering but should not be neglected entirely.

Priority 5 — Battery

Battery governs how often you can use your abilities. In a Podracer build centred on Surge, 2–3 points in Battery is usually enough for consistent Surge use across a race. If you are running multiple abilities, bring it up to 4–5 points. Do not over-invest here at the cost of your performance stats — the Podracer’s speed advantage comes from Ramjet and Afterburner, not ability spamming.

Best Abilities for the Podracer

The Podracer build philosophy is simple: you win by outrunning rivals, not by disrupting them. At Podracer speeds, the gap you can open on a straight with a clean Ramjet and Surge activation is larger than any ability can close. Keep your ability selection lean and focused on speed.

Overtaking Surge II (Core Pick)

This is the ability the Podracer build centres on. Every clean overtake grants 20 seconds of Surging, and each subsequent pass during that window extends the timer and increases speed further. Podracers accelerate hard enough that threading through a pack quickly generates compounding Surging windows. Used at the race start — where the field is tightest and overtakes are easiest — Overtaking Surge II can put you in clean air by the end of the first lap, with a large speed advantage that is genuinely hard to close down. It cancels on contact, so race cleanly while it is active. Our how to upgrade abilities guide shows the full upgrade path from base Surge to Overtaking Surge II.

Vent / Flame Vent (Redliner Support)

On Ody Mandrell running the Redliner style, Vent or Flame Vent is essential. Redliner pushes Ramjet heat faster and deeper than other styles. Without Vent, you will overheat on every extended straight — at 1,000 km/h, that costs enormous time. Flame Vent dumps heat instantly and also shoots fire rings toward trailing rivals, giving it a passive offensive function. Upgrade it toward Auto-Vent so it fires automatically near the end of the Redline zone, effectively giving you back-to-back Ramjet activations on long sections.

Shield (Defensive Option)

If you are running one of the fragile pilots — Ben Quadinaros or Gasgano — a Shield ability adds a meaningful layer of protection through the busy early laps. Surging Shield II, which stays active until broken and then converts the hit into 5 seconds of Surging, is the strongest version. It combines protection with the speed loop the build already runs on. At the speeds Podracers travel, one avoided collision early is worth multiple upgrade points in Resilience. For the full breakdown of all ability options, our all abilities guide lists everything available.

Best Parts for the Podracer

Parts are randomly distributed during Tour runs. These are the targets to prioritise whenever they appear:

• Surging Alarm III — triggers 20 seconds of Surging while Redlining with the Ramjet. On Ody Mandrell, this stacks Surging on top of the Overbuilt Engines Ramjet bonus, creating a compounding speed window that is extremely difficult for rivals to match.
• Overheat Loop III — gives +5% Ramjet power for each Redline, stacking until you crash. Across a five-race Tour, this Part snowballs significantly. It is the centrepiece of the “Fastest Build” in the game when paired with Burning Ramjet and Extended Alarm.
• Burning Ramjet — triggers the Burning mechanic once the Ramjet overheats, which paradoxically increases your speed further. This is a high-risk, high-reward Part that experienced Podracer pilots use to squeeze maximum pace out of the Redline window. Do not run this Part if you are still learning the tracks — a badly managed Burning activation can cost you the race.
• Extended Alarm IV — extends the Redline window before the Ramjet overheats, giving you more time to operate inside the zone where Redliner and Overheat Loop stacks accumulate.
• Optimised Radiators — improves cooldown speed after boosting. Useful on all pilots but especially important on any build that runs Ramjet aggressively, since faster cooldown means faster return to peak Ramjet speed.
• Ramjet Cooling — vents heat faster while at speed. Another essential Cooling Part for Redliner-heavy Podracer builds, particularly on hotter planets where heat builds faster than usual.

The Fastest Podracer Build (Advanced)

Once you are comfortable with the Redline zone and understand how the Burning mechanic works, the absolute fastest Podracer setup in the game uses these four Parts together:

• Burning Ramjet
• Extended Alarm IV
• Hail-Mary Reset II
• Overheat Loop III

The loop works like this: push the Ramjet into Redline, hold it until Overheat Loop stacks accumulate, trigger Burning Ramjet for the speed bonus, use Hail-Mary Reset to recover, and restart. Each Redline cycle ends faster and more explosively than the last. Heated Fuel IV can also be added to this setup when available for an additional compounding boost. This is explicitly a high-risk, high-reward build for experienced players who know each track layout well enough to manage the Burning window confidently. Getting the timing wrong is catastrophic at Podracer speeds. For new Podracer pilots, stick to the cleaner Ramjet + Surging Alarm + Overtaking Surge II approach until the tracks feel natural.

How to Drive a Podracer Well

Podracers feel completely different to the standard speeders. Here are the habits that matter most:

• Brake much earlier than you think you need to. At 1,000 km/h, the entry point for every corner arrives faster than instinct expects. If you are consistently hitting walls mid-corner, move your braking point earlier — not by a little, by a lot. The Cornering stat helps, but it cannot fix a fundamentally late entry.
• Use Afterburner between Ramjet activations, not instead of them. Afterburner recharges continuously and carries no heat risk. Use it as a bridge between Ramjet windows to keep your speed high rather than drifting down to base pace while the Ramjet cools. On Gasgano with his faster refill rate, this is even more effective.
• Activate Overtaking Surge early. The opening lap is where the pack is tightest and the easiest place to chain multiple overtakes in quick succession. Fire Overtaking Surge at the race start and use the Podracer’s acceleration to punch through the field. If you reach clean air in the first two minutes, the race is largely over — no one catches a well-built Podracer with a clear track ahead.
• Watch the Ramjet heat gauge actively. On Ody Mandrell with Redliner, the Redline zone is wider than normal but still finite. Know exactly when Auto-Vent needs to fire, and do not let the heat run past the safe window — an overheating Podracer at full speed is a wreck waiting to happen. If you are not running Auto-Vent yet, fire Vent manually with about 10% of the gauge remaining.
• Learn the Tatooine circuits specifically. Mos Espa Speedway and Hunk of Junk are the only tracks where Podracers race in Campaign and Arcade. The Boonta Eve Classic layout is reproduced faithfully enough that knowledge of the film race genuinely helps on the Speedway circuit. Hunk of Junk is a single-lap point-to-point — go flat out and only brake when necessary.
• Complete the pre-race button prompts. Before each Podracer event, the pre-race check gives you prompts to prime your vehicle’s systems. Completing these correctly starts you with a full Afterburner and buffed first ability activations. A botched pre-race check means starting with empty systems — a significant handicap at Podracer speeds.

Podracer Build Summary

• Best Tour Pilot: Ody Mandrell (Redliner style, Surge pre-installed, Overbuilt Engines)
• Best Quick Play / Arcade Pilot: Dud Bolt (straight-line speed dominance)
• Upgrade Order: Ramjet → Cornering → Afterburner → Resilience → Battery
• Best Abilities: Overtaking Surge II, Auto-Vent (Redliner builds), Shield (fragile pilots)
• Best Parts (Standard): Surging Alarm III, Overheat Loop III, Optimised Radiators, Ramjet Cooling
• Best Parts (Advanced Speed Run): Burning Ramjet, Extended Alarm IV, Hail-Mary Reset II, Overheat Loop III

When the build is working, Ody Mandrell’s Redliner Ramjet is firing in extended windows, Overtaking Surge chains through the early pack, and by the halfway point you are running alone in clean air at a speed the rest of the field simply cannot match. Podracers are the most extreme vehicle in the game — and the most rewarding to master.

For more on the Campaign Podracer progression and Sebulba’s role in the story, see our guides on how long Star Wars Galactic Racer takes to complete and mystery encounters for what else to expect across the Tour. For the full vehicle comparison across all build types, our best Landspeeder build, best Speeder Bike build, and best Skim Speeder build cover the other three vehicle classes in full.

Star Wars Galactic Racer is available on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Epic Games Store. More at the official Star Wars Galactic Racer website.

Frequently Asked Questions