Boonta Eve Classic ( 32 BBY ) The Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY was a podrace commemorating the Boonta ' s Eve . The event was hosted by Jabba Desilijic Tiure and commentated by Fodesinbeed , and held at Mos Espa Grand Arena at Tatooine . Prelude to the Race . Only a few days before , Jedi Knights Qui - Gon Jinn and Obi - Wan Kenobi had to land the royal starship of Queen Padmé Amidala on the planet of Tatooine . After discovering that the only way to obtain a replacement hyperdrive generator was to pay with Tatooine currency , Jinn found the young boy Anakin Skywalker in Watto ' s shop . Jinn met Anakin ' s mother , Shmi , and Anakin eagerly offered to use his podracer in the race , to obtain the parts needed for the Naboo ship , if he won . Qui - Gon also worked out a deal , that if Anakin won the race , he would have his freedom . The Race . 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 the Laguna Caves , Tyerell crashed into a stalactite , and was killed upon impact . 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 multiple 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 . Meanwhile , Anakin was behind Gasgano , and when he tried to go around him , Gasgano went in the same direction , blocking him . This happened again twice until they came to a ramp , where Anakin seized the chance and boosted in mid - air , getting past Gasgano . He also avoided being destroyed by Teemto Pagalies when a bug flew into his eye , and he lost control of his podracer . 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 , who collided with each other , destroying both pods . 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 . 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 . Behind the scenes . The , written by Terry Brooks and published just before the release of the in 1999 states that racers Obitoki , Habba Kee , and Xelbree competed in this race . In the novel , Obitoki and Habba Kee die in a crash caused by Sebulba and they appear in the script in the same context , but neither makes an appearance in the film itself . Additionally , " " establishes that eighteen racers qualified and competed in the Boonta Eve Classic , but these three are not on the provided list . This article thereby treats Obitoki ' s appearance in the novel as ambiguously canon ical . " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " was released in 2008 . Its entry on Obitoki confirms the existence of Kee and Obitoki and their crash , but it leaves the wreck ' s occurrence during the Boonta and their deaths ambiguous . Xelbree also received a mention in that reference book .