“I’m sure you’ll do it this time… Finish the race, of course!”
― Kitster Banai
The galaxy is vast. Its racers are fearless. And this season, the fastest will rise.
Across the galaxy, the Galactic Racing Tournament returns — a celebration of speed, skill, and spectacular danger. Four disciplines. Four legendary circuits. Four champions waiting to be crowned.
The season begins in the steaming jungles of Son-Tuul, where Speeder Bikes battle through dense vegetation in the treacherous Son-Tuul Rumble. From there, the action takes to the streets of Daiyu, as Landspeeders weave through neon cityscape in the Daiyu Drift. Then comes the Bracca Grinder — a notoriously brutal Pod Race across mountains of starship wreckage, where speed and survival are often the same thing. And finally, the crown jewel of the tournament: the Sinta Glacier Run. StarRacers — starfighters rebuilt for racing — scream through the frozen asteroids of Sinta in the ultimate test of reflexes and nerve.
Four races. Four disciplines. Four champions.
Only one question remains: who will be the fastest in the galaxy?
SON-TUUL
Race Type: Race
Vehicle: Speeder Bikes
Circuit Terrain: Dense jungle, mesas and plateaus
DAIYU
Race Type: Drift Race
Vehicle: Landspeeders
Circuit Terrain: Urban, neon-bathed city streets
BRACCA
Race Type: Race
Vehicle: Pod Racers
Circuit Terrain: Mountains, rocky formations, canyons, shipwrecks
SINTA
Race Type: Race
Vehicle: Starfighters
Circuit Terrain: Asteroid mining shafts, ice corridors, ice debris, empty space
Category A — Swoop Bike Race
Racing enthusiasts from all across the Galaxy — welcome to the long-anticipated season opener of the Galactic Racing Tournament!
The denizens of Son-Tuul pride themselves on hosting the Rumble — a raw and dangerous Swoop Bike race through the planet’s humid jungles, moss-choked ruins, and mist-covered lakes. The circuit itself is as much an opponent as the other racers: narrow tree-runs, sudden drops, submerged passages, treacherous bends, and spectators standing far too close to the track.
Strap in and take on the full Son-Tuul Rumble Circuit — a brutal test of speed, precision, and nerve where a single bad turn can send you straight into the jungle.
Meet your idols at the sprawling festival grounds, feel the rumble of overclocked engines and screaming repulsorlifts, and enjoy the full program on the main stage.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 1st of November 2026
Category B — Landspeeders
Come to Daiyu and witness adrenaline-hungry pilots push heavily tuned and customized Landspeeders to their limits, drifting at full throttle through neon-lit urban canyons, tight U-turns, elevated streets, and the industrial maze of the megacity.
The Daiyu Drift is a legendary — and notoriously illegal — underground night race where polished professionals go bumper-to-bumper with gritty street racers. The circuit twists through the heart of the city, turning Daiyu itself into one giant racing track.
And with Daiyu’s law enforcement actively trying to shut the event down, racers must contend with more than just their rivals. Patrols, roadblocks, and sudden diversions are all part of the spectacle.
Bring your fastest speeder, your best crew, and your willingness to break a few rules.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 6th of December 2026
Category C — Podracers
Up next is the brutal penultimate Podrace — The Bracca Grinder!
The hosting Scrapper Guild spares no expense — or safety measures — as racers thunder through barren canyons, plunge through the torn-open carcasses of colossal warships from another era, and tear across sprawling junkyards, all while trying not to become scrap metal themselves — or, even worse, a meal for the ever-hungry Ibdis Maw.
Pilots from across the Galaxy arrive with their most powerful, pushed-to-instability racing engines, with no limits on maximum output. Some Braccan locals even build their own Podracers from whatever they can salvage. But make no mistake — the Bracca Grinder is a fool’s gamble.
The circuit demands inhuman reflexes, nerves of steel, and a willingness to risk everything for a shot at glory. Out here, there is no safety margin — only speed, wreckage, and the finish line.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 24th of January 2027
Category D — Racing Starfighters
The StarRacer Circuit makes its final stop in the Sinta system, where the galaxy’s fastest pilots face one of the most spectacular and unforgiving courses in the tournament: the Sinta Glacier Run.
The race begins deep inside the frozen heart of a colossal glacier asteroid. From the starting grid, racers plunge into ancient mining shafts and blast through narrow corridors barely wide enough for a single StarRacer. There is no room to overtake, no room for error — only precision, nerve, and the roar of engines against the ice.
Eventually, the racers burst from the asteroid into open space, where the circuit becomes a dizzying maze of smaller asteroids, tumbling ice debris, and enormous circuit rings suspended in the void. The course zigzags between them at extreme speeds before plunging back toward the glacier for another run.
It’s a race of endurance — and one that takes its toll. Pilots and machines must endure lap after lap of freezing darkness, blinding open space, and relentless high-speed maneuvering.
For the duration of the race, the glacier colony becomes home to the racing paddock. Pit crews from Incom, Sienar, and Koensayr, alongside ambitious sponsored independents, fine-tune their machines in the frigid pits, searching for the perfect setup for the course’s extreme speeds and unforgiving conditions.
And this is no ordinary race. The Sinta Glacier Run is the grand finale of the Galactic Racing Tournament — where the biggest sponsors, the greatest fortunes, and the most prestigious prizes are on the line. Here, reputations are made, fortunes are won, and legends are born.
Only the skilled — and the chilled — will endure. Those who master the Glacier Run will ascend among the legends of the StarRacer Circuit.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 28th of March 2027
RULES
- You may submit one racer and its pilot(s) per event.
- Cat A and B are to be minfig scale. Cat C and D can be either midi or minifig scale.
- Please include:
- An image of your racer (with optional accessories, either in an immersive scene, in front of a neutral background or as a cut-out PNG version) for tournament graphics.
- Team name
- Pilot name
- Optional: Homeworld, vehicle type/brand/name
- A 10-point stat split across Racer Speed, Piloting Skills, and Pilot Recklessness (max 5 points per trait).
Optional: Elevate your XP by placing your team in an (immersive) scene, vignette, or dramatic moment that showcases their team spirit in the pits or their skill on the track – This time, the whole build will add to bonus points in the racing league!
Build Placement: Entries shall be submitted to the Forum using the prefix [GRT – grid – planet – faction], e.g. [GRT -J4-Son-Tuul-AM]. Builds can be entered for IP or RP on the respective race location, taking into account the specifics of the track and paddock biome (no grid or fleet access necessary). The IP or RP earned by a faction may be transferred to any system in which the faction maintains an outpost for free, after the racing event. Builds showing the racers in a different biome (e.g. the home-track of your racer) will be admitted, but won’t be eligible for additional Build Points (cf. section rewards).
Note: pilots and team colors don’t necessarily need to be coherent throughout the season but can add to identification and immersion.
The majority of the build should be build after the challenge start (table scraps and minifigures are allowed) – honor policy applies!
RACE PROCEDURES
Each race takes place on the SW Factions Discord, in the week after the entry deadline • Each race features six racers competing head-to-head for community votes based on popularity of the vehicle.
Two racers with the highest popularity vote advance to the next round.
X-factor: A third racer advances based on the highest stat in the race’s randomly chosen tiebreaker trait: Speed, Skill, or Recklessness – selected anew for each race.
This process repeats across rounds, narrowing the field toward the final showdown, the Photo Finish.
Photo Finish: In the final race, the two highest-voted racers break away from the pack. They dash down the homestretch, locked in a head-to-head for the ultimate prize. It’s a duel to decide the race. Faction members of the final two contestants are excluded from voting in the final duel—to ensure a clean finish.
REWARDS
Advancing one round yields 5 IP and 5 RP. The winner of an event recives the event badge and additional 10 IP, 10 RP and 30k credits for his/her faction. Earnings may be placed to any system in which the faction maintains an outpost.
League points distribution
- Place – 15 points
- Place – 12 points
- Place – 10 points
- Place – 9 points
- Place – 8 points
- Place – 7 points
- Place – 6 points
- Place – 5 points
- Place – 4 points
- Place – 3 points
- Place – 2 points
- Place – 1 point
Points will be added to an aggregate Standings, that after all four races determines the Galactic Racing Tournament Champion!
Appearance Bonus
Enetering a racer in all 4 events is rewarded with 5 extra points to the League Standings.
Build Points
The best 3 builds (per classic Factions judged scores) add extra points to the standings:
- Place – 5 points
- Place – 3 points
- Place – 1 point
Note: Builds have to represent the respective race location (Son-Tuul, Daiyu, Bracca and Sinta) to be eligible to earn Build Points to the Standings.
Championship
The best 3 racers per the final standings are rewarded a Champions Badge, as well as special Faction bonuses:
- Place – 50 IP, 50 RP and 50k credits
- Place – 30 IP, 30 RP and 30k credits
- Place – 10 IP, 10 RP and 10k credits
Earnings may be placed to any system in which the faction maintains an outpost.
