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Mario Kart Worldmay give you all kinds of ways to catch up, but nothing beats not having to do that in the first place. A solid start can set you up for the rest of the race, and in Knockout Tour could be the difference between surviving and being eliminated.
To get the best start possible, you’re going to want to tear off the finish line with a boost. If you’re new to Mario Kart getting the timing down on this can be trickier than it looks, but mastering it will keep you from being left in the dust.
How To Boost Off The Starting Line
At the start of the race, during the countdown, you canrev your enginesby pressing the accelerate button (by default, this is A on the Switch 2). Your racer will make a noise, andthe exhaust will light up the more you charge it.
However, it isn’t as simple as getting up to maximum revvs before the whistle is blown. You’re going to want to time it, asover-egging the rev will cause you to stall instead. This can be catastrophic, as you’ll stumble at the starting line and almost immediately besent into last place.
Alternatively, if youdon’t rev enough, you’ll still move off the starting line, but youwon’t get the boost. This isn’t too bad, and catching up won’t be difficult, but it’s still not ideal. This is doubly true inKnockout Tourmode, where everyother player will likely be boostingtoo.
Instead, you’re going to want to start acceleratingas soon as the countdown gets to two. Hold down the button at two, anddon’t let goto boost off the line at maximum speed.
Be careful not to collide with other racers in the cramped and chaotic conditions of the starting line. No matter how perfectly you timed your boost, you can stillcrash into other racers or the wall.
Running Start Races
Many races, such asanything past the first course of a Grand Prix,won’t have a stationary start at a line. Instead, they’ll haverunning starts, with all the racers already moving when you take control.
This kind of start is actually easier, asyou can’t stall. If you accelerate too early, or too late, yousimply won’t boost.Otherwise, the timing is the exact same, and you should floor it as soon as you get totwo on the countdown.
