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| Series | Sonic Underground (DiC, 1999) |
| Season | Season 1 (the only season) |
| Episode | Episode 11 of 40 (production order) · production no. 411 · WildBrain no. 111 |
| French title | Course d’obstacles |
| First aired (France) | 10 February 1999 · TF1 |
| First aired (US) | 13 September 1999 · BKN Kids II (syndication) · 11th in US broadcast order |
| Written by | Mark Edens |
| Directed by | Marc Boreal, François Hemmen and Daniel Sarriet; Tom Smith (US) |
| Song | “Built for Speed” |
| Previous episode | Come Out Wherever You Are (S01E10) |
| Next episode | A Hedgehog’s Home Is Her Castle (S01E12) |
Sonic’s prideRobotnik’s track meetA racing robot
Winner Fakes All is episode 11 of Sonic Underground, DiC’s 1999 cartoon about Sonic, Sonia and Manic, the hedgehog triplets of Queen Aleena. It is number 11 in production order – the order TF1 first showed the series in France, where it premiered on 10 February 1999 – and it was the 11th episode to air in the United States, on 13 September 1999. It was written by Mark Edens, and its song is “Built for Speed”.
Synopsis
Robotnik stages a grand track meet for the fastest athletes on Mobius and enters a super-fast racing robot of his own. The real point is bait: he is sure that Sonic will never turn down a test of speed.
Sonia and Manic know their brother’s competitive streak and beg him to sit this one out. When Sonic goes missing, they assume the worst and head to the stadium to drag him off the track, and walk straight into Robotnik’s net themselves.
Sonic, it turns out, kept his promise and never entered the race. Instead he faces a much tougher one: rescuing his brother and sister. Along the way he pushes a runaway Truckbot through a line of Swatbots, gets a laser pistol in the face from Sleet, who has been hiding in a pram, and spin-dashes through robots to get everyone out.
The Song: “Built for Speed”
“Built for Speed” is Sonic’s kind of song, about the thing he loves most.
Key Moments
- Robotnik builds a racing robot to lure Sonic into competing.
- Sonia and Manic get caught trying to stop their brother.
- Sonic’s real race is the rescue.
Trivia
- The title plays on the saying “winner takes all”.
- The French title, Course d’obstacles, means “obstacle race”.
- Aired 13 September 1999 in the US, the first episode of the BKN run’s third week.
Watch the Episode
The full episode, uploaded by WildBrain’s official WildBrain Hero Tower YouTube channel (checked 6 November 2026).
Part of our Sonic Underground episode guide. The series page covers the characters, the songs, the prophecy and the show’s history.
Sources: titles, writers, songs and air dates from Luke’s original Sonic Scene guide, cross-checked with Wikipedia, Sonic Wiki Zone and Sonic Retro (Wayback copy); synopsis written for Sonic Scene from the episode, its official description and several fan references; title card and screenshots via Sonic Wiki Zone, copied to our media library.