Constructed to break records
From Matt:
After I designed Tycho station, I had an idea for a fun little detail in the world. Specifically, a race.
I wanted ultra-custom, starfighter-scale (-ish) ships that were unable to enter subspace, but were insanely fast in real space. They would fly a circuit that took them through the pass through docking bays of Tycho, out around several markers, and back.
You need custom fighters that are almost uncontrollably fast, plus a pilot with near-instant reflexes, along with a crew to keep such a death machine tuned up to just this side utter self-annihilation. I'm betting this is pretty damn popular, especially in Freelance space.
And yes, the comparison to podracing is kind of intentional.