StarCitizen:Ian Rikkord

Ian Rikkord is the 2479 StarCitizen:Murray Cup champion. An atmospheric specialist for StarCitizen:Gaia Planet Services, Rikkord’s claim to fame became the sheer amount of customization he applied to his RSI StarCitizen:Nova courier ship, beginning a five-century tradition of cup winners personally modifying stock spacecraft. The reaction to the newly organized racing was electric; new racers from all over the Empire and even beyond were lining up to take part, and with each successive year the Cup prize became larger. By 2488, Murray had “gone legit”; the erstwhile drug runner had repositioned himself as a public figure and the father of modern star racing.<ref>Template:Cite RSI</ref>

History

Ian Rikkord was as an atmospheric specialist for StarCitizen:Gaia Planet Services. A self-professed ‘hobbyist engineer,’ he would modify and customize his ship in his spare time. When the other terraformers began to organize races, Rikkord signed up on a whim. His ship broke down halfway through his first race. After that initial failure, he became consumed with winning a race — any race. That process took several months and dozens of practice runs, until he finally placed third.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite RSI</ref>

At this point, the racing bug had clearly infected Rikkord. He spent all of his free time researching astroengineering and racing techniques to try and gain that edge against his competition, who were mostly still competing for bragging rights, not as a real sport.<ref name=":0" />

By the time of the first StarCitizen:Murray Cup, Rikkord was the in-system favorite but the prize was enticing enough to bring in outside racers. For the first series of races, Rikkord seemed outmatched and overwhelmed by the new competition, but still managed to stay in contention. During the final race, he managed to score a dynamic victory, barely stealing the Murray Cup away from StarCitizen:Ella Nero, a veteran test pilot from the Navy, who had been dominating the races thus far.<ref name=":0" />

After that, Rikkord never won another Murray Cup, but not for lack of trying. Many speculate that as the Murray Cup grew in popularity, the racers became too professional for this ‘hobbyist engineer’ to compete.<ref name=":0" />