Star Wars Galactic Racer Best Podracers – All 6 Pilots Ranked and Compared

TL;DR – Best Podracers in Star Wars Galactic Racer

• 6 playable pilots — Sebulba, Ben Quadinaros, Ody Mandrell, Dud Bolt, Gasgano, Teemto Pagalies.
• All unlock together at Multiplayer Rank 5 — no individual grind required.
• Best for Quick Play: Dud Bolt — straight-line dominance with no build phase required.
• Best for Podracing Tour: Ody Mandrell — Overbuilt Engines and Extra Fuel synergy scale hard with upgrades.
• Best for aggression: Sebulba — Built for Battle trait makes every collision work in your favour.
• Best for beginners: Gasgano — Protected trait (free Shield Ability) and defensive handling lower the skill floor.
• Best pure-speed specialist: Ben Quadinaros — highest speed ceiling of the six, demanding but rewarding.
• Each pilot carries a unique trait AND a fault — there are real trade-offs, not just stat boosts.

Once you unlock Podracing in Star Wars Galactic Racer, the next question hits you almost immediately: which pilot do you actually use? All six unlock together at Multiplayer Rank 5, so you go from having none to having the entire Boonta Eve Classic roster available in one shot. That’s a lot of choice with no on-ramp. The short answer is that the best Podracer depends on the mode you’re in and how you race — each pilot has genuine strengths, real weaknesses, and a built-in Fault that comes packaged with their trait whether you want it or not.

This guide ranks all six, breaks down what each pilot’s trait and fault actually mean in practice, and tells you which to pick based on your playstyle and the mode you’re playing. For everything else about the game, check our Star Wars Galactic Racer review, the tips and tricks guide, the multiplayer guide, the Podracing guide, the Racer Styles guide, and our full breakdown of all vehicle stats. The game is available on Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation Store, and Xbox.

How Podracer Traits and Faults Work

Every Podracer in Star Wars Galactic Racer comes with a built-in Trait — a passive bonus that defines how the pilot performs — and an accompanying Fault that represents the mechanical downside of that same vehicle. You cannot equip a Trait without its Fault. They’re paired by design, and they’re what makes each pilot genuinely distinct rather than just a reskin with different numbers.

In Podracing Tour (the build-based multiplayer mode), each pilot also comes with a starting Ability pre-installed — a free Ability that arrives with the vehicle before you’ve earned any others through the tour’s build phase. That starting Ability matters a lot in the early races before upgrades accumulate, and it’s a significant factor in how pilots rank differently between Quick Play and Podracing Tour.

All 6 Podracers Ranked – Quick Play Tier List

Quick Play is a single flat race with no upgrades. No build phase, no Parts accumulation — just the pilot’s raw Trait, Fault, and base stats. In this format, a strong passive trait that doesn’t require a build to function is worth more than anything that scales with upgrades. Here’s how they shake out:

• S-Tier: Dud Bolt
• A-Tier: Ben Quadinaros, Sebulba
• B-Tier: Teemto Pagalies, Gasgano, Ody Mandrell

All 6 Podracers Ranked – Podracing Tour Tier List

The Podracing Tour adds a five-race build phase where Parts and upgrades accumulate between events, culminating in a championship final. Pilots whose traits scale with upgrades — or whose starting Abilities provide strong early value — move up significantly here compared to Quick Play. The tier list looks quite different:

• S-Tier: Ody Mandrell
• A-Tier: Ben Quadinaros, Gasgano
• B-Tier: Sebulba
• C-Tier: Dud Bolt, Teemto Pagalies

The flip between Dud Bolt (S in Quick Play, C in Tour) and Ody Mandrell (B in Quick Play, S in Tour) is the clearest illustration of how differently these modes play. Dud Bolt’s straight-line advantage is immediate and free — in a no-upgrade race it’s devastating. Ody Mandrell’s Overbuilt Engines trait scales with speed investment; once upgrades are in play, the ceiling rises well above where Dud Bolt’s straightforward Optimized Nozzles can reach.

Every Podracer in Star Wars Galactic Racer – Full Breakdown

Sebulba – The Combat Specialist

Sebulba

Trait: Built for Battle — reduces damage taken and increases damage dealt in collisions.
Fault: Old Dog, Old Tricks — limits adaptability in certain race situations.
Starting Ability (Tour): None listed as a pre-install — Sebulba’s value comes from his passive Trait rather than an Ability bonus.
Quick Play Tier: A | Podracing Tour Tier: B

Sebulba is the most recognisable pilot in the game and the one most players gravitate toward first — which is understandable. He’s the main rival in the Campaign, and the Built for Battle Trait makes him genuinely dangerous in the kind of aggressive, contact-heavy racing that Podracing naturally produces. Every collision he initiates deals more damage to the opponent. Every collision he absorbs deals less back to him. On tracks with heavy traffic and close-quarters racing, that asymmetry compounds quickly.

The reason he drops from A-Tier in Quick Play to B-Tier in Podracing Tour isn’t because he gets weaker — it’s because the Tour’s build system rewards pilots whose traits scale with upgrades, and Sebulba’s combat-focused kit becomes less decisive once everyone has a full Parts loadout and defensive Abilities. He’s still viable, but other pilots pull further ahead as the session progresses. Pick Sebulba if you want to bully the field and play the most aggressive version of Podracing available. Just be aware that in a Tour’s later races, that approach meets more resistance.

Ben Quadinaros – The Pure Speed Specialist

Trait: Double Control Surfaces — reduces vehicle drag and improves Cornering.
Fault: Complex Interlocks — increases collision sensitivity; collisions punish Ben more severely than other pilots.
Starting Ability (Tour): Afterburner Superiority — makes Afterburner more powerful.
Quick Play Tier: A | Podracing Tour Tier: A

Ben Quadinaros is one of the most consistently strong pilots across both modes, which is what keeps him at A-Tier in both lists. His Double Control Surfaces Trait reduces drag and tightens Cornering simultaneously — which is a genuinely powerful combination, since drag reduction means higher sustainable top speed and better Cornering means you lose less of it through turns. His Afterburner Superiority starting Ability in Tour also gives him a meaningful speed advantage in the early races before other pilots have had time to build their own boosts.

The catch is his Fault. Complex Interlocks means that when Ben gets hit — even a glancing contact — the damage registers harder than it would on Sebulba or Gasgano. He’s built for clean, precise racing, and the game punishes you for not doing that. On tracks with tight corridors and aggressive AI, his Fault can rapidly turn a good race into a critical one. In the hands of a player who can actually hold clean lines and avoid contact, Ben has the highest pure speed ceiling of any pilot in the game. High-skill pick. Very rewarding to master.

Ody Mandrell – The Best Podracing Tour Pilot

Trait: Overbuilt Engines — increases maximum top speed.
Fault: Massive Momentum — makes the podracer harder to decelerate and reduces responsiveness when slowing for corners.
Starting Ability (Tour): Extra Fuel — starts with the Surge Ability installed.
Quick Play Tier: B | Podracing Tour Tier: S

Ody Mandrell is the best Podracing Tour pilot in the game by a clear margin, and the gap between his Quick Play and Tour ratings tells you exactly why. In Quick Play, Overbuilt Engines is useful but not dominant — extra top speed helps on open tracks but doesn’t compensate for the Massive Momentum Fault on technical sections. In the Podracing Tour, though, Overbuilt Engines compounds with every speed-related upgrade you add over five races. By the time you reach the championship final, Ody Mandrell’s top speed ceiling sits noticeably higher than what other pilots can achieve, and the Surge Ability from Extra Fuel supports overtaking throughout the build phase.

His Massive Momentum Fault is a real consideration — the podracer brakes slower than the others, which demands earlier braking points on sharp corners. Players who learn to work around that (rather than fight it) get the best Tour performance of any pilot in the game. If you’re serious about Podracing Tour, Ody Mandrell is where you want to be.

Dud Bolt – Best for Quick Play

Trait: Optimized Nozzles — increases Afterburner power and top speed specifically while on straights.
Fault: Draggy Control Surfaces — reduced cornering precision, particularly on tight technical turns.
Starting Ability (Tour): Center of Attention — starts with Vectored Shockwave Ability installed.
Quick Play Tier: S | Podracing Tour Tier: C

Dud Bolt’s Quick Play dominance is straightforward: Optimized Nozzles is an immediate, free, always-on speed advantage on every straight in the race. No upgrades needed. No build phase. Just point him down a long section of track and watch the gap open up. On open, fast Tatooine-style tracks with generous straights and modest cornering demands, he’s the strongest single-race pick in the game.

The Podracing Tour is where the wheels fall off. Draggy Control Surfaces is manageable in Quick Play because the race is short and technical track sections are limited. Across five accumulating races in a Tour, that Fault becomes a recurring tax — every technical section costs him more speed than it costs other pilots, and the Vectored Shockwave starting Ability, while useful, doesn’t compensate for a build that struggles with momentum through complex track layouts. On tracks that feature significant airborne sections, though, Dud Bolt has a specialist advantage worth noting — his Trait benefits from jump-based racing in ways that favour players who memorise elevation changes. But as a Tour pick overall? There are stronger options.

Gasgano – Best for Beginners

Trait: Energy Surplus — increases Afterburner power and improves tank refill rate.
Fault: Large Cross-Section — wider hitbox makes the podracer more susceptible to contact damage from the sides.
Starting Ability (Tour): Protected — starts with the Shield Ability installed.
Quick Play Tier: B | Podracing Tour Tier: A

Gasgano is the most beginner-friendly Podracer in the game, and that’s not meant as a slight — it’s a design feature. Energy Surplus keeps the Afterburner tank fuller more often, which means you’re rarely caught waiting for boost to refill during a recovery moment. The Protected starting Ability in Tour gives you a free Shield from race one, which is genuinely valuable while you’re still learning tracks and making contact errors. The Shield gives you breathing room that other pilots don’t get until they’ve earned a defensive Ability through the build phase.

His Large Cross-Section Fault means Gasgano takes more side-impact damage than the slimmer pilots — so if you’re racing in a crowded field and getting caught in contact situations, the Fault bites more than it would with Sebulba’s Built for Battle negating it. In Tour, though, Gasgano moves up to A-Tier because his starting Shield and Afterburner economy both provide consistent value across the full session. He’s not the flashiest pick, but he’s reliable and forgiving, which counts for a lot in a mode where mechanical failures can end a run.

Teemto Pagalies – Situational Specialist

Trait: Bleeding-Edge Tech — increases Afterburner power and improves Cornering manoeuvrability.
Fault: Small Thrusters — reduces maximum top speed relative to other pilots.
Starting Ability (Tour): Careful — starts with Status Scrubber Ability installed.
Quick Play Tier: B | Podracing Tour Tier: C

Teemto Pagalies is the most divisive pilot in the roster — his Trait is genuinely useful (Afterburner power plus improved Cornering is a solid combination on technical tracks), but his Fault is one of the most impactful in the game. Small Thrusters reduce his maximum top speed outright. That’s not a situational penalty, it’s a ceiling — and in a game built around speed, that ceiling becomes the central limitation of every run you do in his pod.

Where Teemto finds his niche is on tight, technical tracks that reward Cornering and Afterburner recovery over raw straight-line pace. The Status Scrubber starting Ability in Tour also gives him survivability in Malfunction-heavy races, synergising with the Engineer-style “clear debuffs for bonuses” approach. But those are specific conditions, and across the broader track selection in the Podracing Tour, his top-speed cap makes him consistently outpaced in the final championship race by pilots who’ve built for speed. He’s the specialist’s specialist — worth understanding, hard to recommend broadly.

Which Podracer Should You Pick in Star Wars Galactic Racer?

• New to Podracing? Start with Gasgano. The Shield Ability and Afterburner recovery give you safety margin while you learn tracks. Less exciting, but you’ll finish more races.
• Quick Play / single race? Pick Dud Bolt on open tracks or Ben Quadinaros on technical ones. Dud Bolt’s straight-line advantage is immediate; Ben’s reduced drag and cornering rewards precision.
• Podracing Tour? Go with Ody Mandrell. Overbuilt Engines compounds with every speed upgrade across the build phase, and Extra Fuel’s Surge Ability keeps him competitive in the early races before the upgrades stack up.
• Love aggressive, contact-heavy racing? Sebulba is your pilot. Built for Battle turns every collision into a net positive, and he’s satisfying to race in any mode.
• High-skill, high-reward pick? Ben Quadinaros. The highest speed ceiling in the roster if you can keep his Complex Interlocks Fault in check by racing cleanly.

Star Wars Galactic Racer Best Podracers – FAQ