Renithor racing
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Renithor racing is a high-speed spectator sport using modified renithor engines. The vehicles involved often reached speeds of 600 kilometers per hour.
In the days of the Valcarian Republic, competing renithor racers did not take to the track at the same time. Instead, each racer would race alone over a course filled with obstacles and speed-enhancing "acceleration pads". After all racers had completed one or more trials, the racer with the best time won. The renithor racing circuit at the time centered on Mymiri, with other tracks on Sinosa, Idon, Oafal, Adru and Faendra. Most famously, Blarin competed in the Mymiri circuit shortly before that planet's destruction; using a modified renithor to gain the fastest time.
Many planets had an amateur track, most notably Faendra. The track co-ordinator there was Jene the Ateda. The award for victory was usually valuable "race bonds" which could be later sold.
Renithor racing has always been a popular sport both on professional and amateur levels. Since the advent of the Valcarian Empire, renithor racing has progressed to simultaneous racing, rather than a timed event. Now, it is certainly one of the most dangerous sports ever invented. Its underground nature, great excitement, and almost gladiatorial propensity for carnage hold immense appeal to all manner of folk living on the fringe of society. Because of the reflexes needed to react to the renithor and the course, as well as the dexterity needed to control the renithor, the life of a renithor racer is quite often short-lived.
Renithor racing remains a popular spectator sport throughout the Expanse and Empire. During the height of the Empire, successful renithor pilots were granted hero status. They regularly were featured in the media, and large amounts of credits were bet on the outcomes of the dangerous races. Domed arenas, called "renithor tracks," can be found on almost any planet with a sizeable population. Renithor tracks can take a number of forms, from huge circular flight paths to winding challenge courses, and races can be straight lap events or may offer obstacles to increase the challenge. In unsanctioned areas, renithor races are less formal affairs. Any canyon, desert, or similarly open area can serve as an arena. Bets are handled by promoters or criminal elements, and sometimes races are to the death.
A number of outlaw bands also use renithors as symbols of their distain for authority. Rumors that renithor gangs still engage in piracy, mid-air robbery and murder persist in the outer and border regions.