Mario Kart: Super Circuit / Tips

Turbo Boost after Lakitu Retrieval
If you fall off the track or get stuck underwater for more than a couple moments, Lakitu comes to pull you out and place you on the track again. When he picks you up, wait until just before you touch the track again, then press the acceleration and you'll get a turbo boost if you timed it correctly.

Turbo Boost at Start of Race
To get a turbo boost to give you a head start in the race, do not press/hold the acceleration button before the race. Wait until just before the final light appears, then hold down the accelerator If you time it correctly, you'll be shot ahead, giving you a quick start!

Once you nail down the timing for the Turbo Start, you'll likely want to use it at the beginning of every race. Unless you're careful to swerve to the side, you can wind up Turbo Starting straight into the karts lined up in front of you. Although you'll knock the first one out of the way, the second collision will cost you a Coin, not to mention sap away your speed boost. When you're starting in the back row, swerve to the side of the road just enough to avoid hitting anyone, but not so much as to end up on the infield.

Power-Slide Turbo
You can achieve another mid-race turbo, albeit a small one, by mastering the art of the power-slide turbo. It's best to perform this maneuver during long curves or hairpin turns in which you have a lot of speed. Drift through the turn by pressing the R button, the A button, and the + Control Pad as you normally would. As you get ready to exit the turn into the following straight-away, simultaneously release the R Button as you quickly tap the + Control Pad in the direction opposite of the turn you're exiting. If you do this correctly, your kart will blow a small blue flame out of its tailpipes and you'll gain a small burst of speed.

Avoid Skidding Out
As soon as you hit a banana (or other object that will spin you out) tap the B button, and a musical note should appear above your characters head. If you see the note, you know you're safe, and have avoided spinning out. This tip also works for other things, like the crabs you'll find on beaches, etc.

Mushroom Magic
The best places to use Mushrooms are on long straight-aways and wide turns that can be cut across. Avoid using Mushrooms leading into turns, as it will be hard to avoid going off the course. Finally, using Mushrooms in conjunction with Dash Pads does give you can even bigger boost, but it also makes the kart very difficult to handle. Utilize the Dash Pad and save the Mushroom for later in the race; you'll get more bang for your fungi.

Item Stealing
Even though Item Boxes regenerate after about two seconds, someone directly behind you won't be able to grab an Item if you drive through the Item Box just in front of them. Practice sliding sideways through a row of Item Boxes to take multiple Boxes. You'll still get only one Item, but you may deny a competitor a much-needed Item.

Booby Traps
In addition to dropping Bananas directly in front of Dash Pads or some other place you know someone is going to drive through, you can set pseudo-traps for those behind you by using Green Shells. Whenever you enter a U-shaped portion of the course that has parallel walls facing one another (the Bowser Castle courses are perfect for this), you can drive straight toward the wall, fire a Green Shell behind you, and then continue through the turn. The Green Shell will bounce back and forth between the two walls until someone inevitably hits it.

Lightning Strikes Only Once
Keep an eye on the competition and avoid using the Lightning Item if anyone else has just activated the Star. Wait for his or her kart to stop flashing and then use the Lightning. Otherwise, it won't effect the person using the Star.

Racer Select Fun
On the racer select screen: Hit the Left Shoulder button and the rider you have selected will shoot a green shell in the direction they are facing, hit the Right Shoulder button and they will jump or hit the select button and they will honk their horn.