Great guide for zone battle, pretty much covers everything.

I noticed some mechanics that you might want to add:
Shield lasts 5.0 seconds no matter how high your gauge is.
Barrier damage is 40 no matter how high your gauge is when you create it.
Falling off track damage is 40. (Ouch!)

Also your gauge increases substantially the more you have in it. This applies to not only speed pads, but perfect zones, perfect laps, and barrel rolls as well. This can make a barrel roll worth the 10 damage if your gauge is near full.

Show that you own the competition by winning a 55 Zone Battle
with 63.9 zones.
I hate you.