Distilling Mario Kart down to speed and speed alone, the Time Trial mode allows you to race against the clock, against the ghosts of your previous laps, and the ghosts of other players online, all to set the fastest laps and races through all thirty-two tracks in the game.
Time Trial Tips
Racing in the Time Trials is fundamentally different from the Grand Prix. It’s just you against the track. You get three Mushrooms, and the only other items you can collect are Coins. The fastest Time Trials on a course demand racers to take the best racing lines while also managing their Mushrooms and collecting Coins in the process.
Keep in mind that some of the fastest times will require that you unlock more parts to optimize your maximum speed and your ability to corner effectively with well-executed drifts and Mini-Turbos.
Ten Coins: You start each Time Trial with zero Coins. Your goal should be to reach the ten Coin max as early as possible. However, don’t sacrifice speed or a good line through a turn just to collect wayward Coins! Once you reach ten Coins, concentrate on the fastest racing line, collecting Coins only if they are in your way. Note that there may be some courses where getting ten Coins isn’t a reasonable proposition, since that might require you to take longer lines around turns to pick up the Coins.
Coins Do Not Regenerate: Unlike in Grand Prix mode, during Time Trials Coins do not regenerate on the track. Part of the strategy to a Time Trial is to have a route that is not only the fastest, but will also guarantee that you pick as many Coins as you can, while maintaining a fast racing line. Since the Coins can only be picked up once, you can’t rely on Coins always being around to make up for mistakes.
Drifting: How you drift will make a huge difference in how you get through turns. Remember, your goal on nearly every turn is to take them on as close to the inside of the course as you can get away with, and proper drifting is essential.
Use Mushrooms Wisely: Not every course has shortcuts that require the use of a Mushroom, so in these instances you might want to conserve Mushrooms for a final sprint, or for cleaning up after a minor mistake exiting or entering a turn. Generally, Mushrooms should be used once per lap/course section.
Study the Ghosts: The lap ghosts made by you and other players with the game can teach you a lot regarding how you should race through a course. If you’re serious about breaking records, you need to observe what the ghost is doing, and the sort of racer-vehicle combination they have going on!
Manage your Mini-Turbos: You don’t always have to go with orange spark Super Mini-Turbos! Sometimes, it’s best to squeeze out more blue spark Mini-Turbos during a turn, rather than risk eating a wall or straying off course just to get those orange sparks going!