Guide to faster times

[OBH]

Still possible (phantom class at least) on vineta fwd, moa fwd, ubermall fwd, tricky but also possible on anulpha fwd, maybe on chengou fwd but not sure it can be faster.

Listen to this man right here Also AnulphaR and Metropia can be done (with patience!).

Not sure why people say its a dead technique. Download a few ghosts for any of the tracks mentioned (or Yeldars ghost pack) and you'll see its far from a dead technique.

Though I 100% agree with everyone who said its not the main thing to focus on. A successful bsb is nice, but the shortcuts, best racing lines, boost-brs and shift-brs are easily a more valuable asset for you to learn. Try using SL to learn the BRs, and then TT to execute them

[Amorbis]

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this, but Hellfire has a handy guide up on Gamefaqs, which can be found here. It covers the basics such as racing line, airbrakes and barrel rolls.

Aside from that you can always practice until your thumbs drop off like I did, that way you can develop natural skills and a unique playing style.

[mic-dk]

I too practice a lot, but in my case unique playing style != fast

[OBH]

Also, try taking the time to use all ships if a SL session in your favourite isnt going well, try a new one! (competing in dark phantoms SL/TT challenge is a nice way of trying new crafts i found recently)

I gave amorbis all sorts of stick for using pirahna, now thier my baby! Should never have doubted you my friend!

[Aeroracer]

bsb is fine if you want to do it.its not cheating its in the game.

i personaly have never used it as ive never completed a lap so perfect that there is nothing left to do to improve my time other than bsb.

i think players who have used bsb on their time trails have got to an exceptional standard where bsb was the only option left to improve times.

what i can say about it is bsb is probaly pretty very hard to do with a time delay on the button

[OBH]

It isnt as difficult as you might think (at least on most tracks). Take VK for example, on the final straight is that bump in the road - perfect to use as a plotform to boost yourself miles into the air

On tracks which are just flat such as AnulphaR on Met, just pitch down, then up as you boost over the line and ta-da! A free br!

Though it isnt the technique to focus on, it does help to understand how much time there is to be gained from boost-brs generally.

[Woopzilla]

Well, boost-BRs (as opposed to BSBs) over the start/finish line are perfectly fine, it's something you can do in races even! It's too bad that 'race' lap records aren't recorded anywhere besides in multiplayer though. Even those might not actually be your fastest lap ever since it's just the fastest lap performed in an overall fast race.

Annnnyway, moving away from BSB and the sort: I agree with OBH and others that you should try different ships. I'm usually rather loyal to a ship, but switched from Piranha to Goteki 45 and eventually to AG-Systems. I still use the other two every so often. Any other ship besides those 3 and I've just got my nose permanently planted into the walls because of over or under steering. I usually take a while to get used to the new controls.

You will see that the leaderboards have lots of records with Icaras Fury due to its speed... I personally prefer Icaras HD though. Fury to me feels awkward, like it's got an invisible string tied to its nose being pulled by a hand... and I'm controlling the hand.

If you're not a fan of speed lapping, you can just play offline tournaments. Just hit R1 for the track selection to randomize the list... don't make it a habit to just play Anulpha, VK and Moa all the time. While they're fun for most people, they won't sharpen your abilities much (but perhaps your barrel rolling on AP and VK )

[Connavar]

Just played WO today, the first time in weeks, and I did a few laps of Chenghou
forward, with Icaras+, and it's possible to do a BR at the beginning and then
take the left corner without hitting any wall, with a left sideshift saving you...

Ok it may not be as fast as hitting the wall, but damn it looks and feels
fantastic! There is like only 1 perfect trajectory for this!