Rulebook says this is an opposed check, but the Piloting (Space) skill says it's a competitive check.

Any clues? My guess is you use opposed check if terrain is of no influence and you need a quick result. Competitive would apply if race is going to get longer and/or terrain can be an added difficulty. Does this make sense?

Check out Taming the Dragon modular encounter. It might do a better job answering your question than any of us could.