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WC: 2:06.511/1:02.671

Both are better than my BP times, but it's a shame each fell just short of the top 200. They surpassed my expectations by a lot; by so much that 32/32 Experts in the long run doesn't seem too hard.

Andrew Koltz

LC: 1:19.864/25.521

The 3lap is terrible, but I'll come back to it later. The flap is pretty nice, but I wanted Expert A (25.49) so I'm not done here. I spent way too much time on the flap and should just play another course now. I'll see what I can do on MCR. At least I got the double Expert here on LC...

Andrew Koltz

LC: 1:19.668/25.481

I'm pissed off that I couldn't get the Expert C 3lap, but it was getting way too infuriating. My best splits don't even give sub 1:19, but my best 1-shroomer (26.181) had a missed SSMT, so whatever. The lap is much better and is the Expert A I wanted.

MC is going great. I almost have an Expert B flap, and my new Advanced B 3lap had several crashes including a full stop on a pipe on the last straight. I got both in less than an hour, so Exp C/Exp A for 3lap/flap should be possible.

MCR: 1:32.997/29.107
BP: 8.951

Both MCRs are strong, but I'll probably try a bit more. Exp B for the 3lap (1:32.6) should be possible, and I've already driven a time .008 slower in which I missed the air MT on the last lap and then failed a SSMT before the line. My best splits are around 1:31.1. The flap is great, but I really want that Hero (29.1). I have my PR on vid so I'll try to get it up for tips and for proof. I can definitely grab the state record here with a good lap.

I just felt like playing BP flap and got this time in about an hour. I should be able to cut off .007 for Exp A, which would make all four flaps I've put effort into Exp A. I doubt I'll work on the 7lap, but who knows?

Andrew Koltz

BP: 8.927

All I wanted was the Expert A, so I'm done here for now. At 2:40 am, I told myself I'd quit after driving one more sub 9 lap. Just before 3 am, my 12th lifetime sub 9 lap is my first Expert A there. For some reason I was convinced I'd tie the standard, so thank god I didn't have to go through that. Now back to MCR...

Andrew Koltz

MCR: 1:32.442

Pretty satisfied with this, but the way I got it suggests room for more! I was going for a flap, but also trying for a good opener. I drove the opener in 31.68, which was good although the lap felt better. At that moment I decided I'd at least try for a 3lap. A few seconds later, I forgot to do the shroomspot and realised it halfway through the corner the shroom normally skips. I also missed the air MT at the end, so this lap was a sloppy 31.41. I made sure to at least finish the last lap, but tried to make it somewhat tight. The 2-shroomer last lap of 29.35 would be an Expert A flap and 18 places higher than the 3lap!

I really don't know about the flap Hero though. One second it seems definitely reasonable, the next it is impossible. I definitely can do it, but I probably won't get it until I return here.

Andrew Koltz

PB: 1:11.445/22.647
MCR: 28.863

The MCR flap is from a while ago; I just forgot to send it. I can't believe I reached that far into the 28s on a lap where I spent several hours just trying for the sub. The lap didn't even feel maxed to me...

PB is my new best course, with my first Expert A 3lap and my first Hero B on the flap. Just like MCR, I spent hours trying to crack 22.82 for Hero, eventually drove a .814 with a missed MT, and soon after demolished it with the .647. I won't try to beat it for a looong time. The 3lap had a missed MT and 2 grass brushes, but after rewriting my whole top 5 (except #1) I decided that it was definitely good enough. My best splits are around 24.3/22.9/23.85 (1:11.05), which is only .4 off my PR, and maxed enough for now. The flap's on vid and should be uploaded soon after I finish clearing out my camera.

Andrew Koltz

MB: 1:21.887 and 26.644

My best 3lap, and maybe my best flap. The 3lap has splits to go a few tenths lower, but a Hero C and a great sub make it good enough for a while. Still, 2 missed MTs? The flap is even better at Hero B, but a lap just .05 slower with a missed MT could have made Hero A. When I start using A-tech, I could probably hit Titan with a good lap. However I still feel like my 3lap is better, which is very rare for me.

I already have Expert D/Expert A on DC, but they can still go much lower. The 3lap was an accident, and I haven't messed with the right side pool path for the flap yet. I should get the flap pretty far into Hero with it.

Andrew Koltz

DC: 1:42.363 and 32.716
MB: 26.585

The 3lap had splits of about 34.55/34.35/33.44, which is very good for lap 1/3 and okay for lap 2. I normally use an 0-2-0 shroomstrat but I forgot and ended up using both lap 3 xD It's pretty good for me considering I didn't go right of the pool at all, but I could still crush it with that strat, so whatever. I don't like it enough to keep trying though. The flap is a very good lap with the pool strat, but I did miss an MT while going around the pool, so it could have been so much more... I'll beat it another day, as again I don't really like this course.

After getting annoyed of DC, I randomly went to MB although I didn't plan on PRing. After realizing I could PR I started trying for one, and after about two hours I finally drove a nice lap with all the MTs and got this. It's a nice improvement from my old PR, and I am very happy with it. It's also worth mentioning that I missed a car on the bridge by just a few pixels O.O I also came .1 away from my 3lap with 2 missed MTs, and missed 1 of them just seconds before the line :/ I'll get it another time, as I really like this course and come back to it for fun every once in a while.

Andrew Koltz

BP: 1:06.769 and 8.858

I had no clue that I could cut so much, as my old PRs didn't feel that bad when I drove them. I improved the 7lap very quickly, and got it down to 1:06.95 in 45 minutes. I tried for about an hour to reach Expert A, and at the end got it with an odd race. The opener was bad, all middle laps were decent 9.5xxs, and the 2-shroomer...8.94?! A good 2-shroom last lap for me is around 9.05, so this fluke lap is mainly why I crushed the Expert A standard.

The flap took me ages to hit, and after improving it a total of six times in around seven hours, I finally squeezed past the 8.86 required for Hero. It can go down a bit more, but I'll leave that for later. Still, I've probably spent more total hours on this flap than on any other time, so reaching Hero on it was a huge breakthrough.

Andrew Koltz

MCT: 1:38.529 and 31.955

My best track yet! Right from the beginning, I knew a Titan flap was possible. I reached Hero C in one day, and Hero A in two. Over the next week I slowly realized that it would be harder than I first thought, but I finally broke through the 32 second barrier and achieved my first Titan! The only problem with the lap was the last 2 SSMTs, which weren't very straight at all. Still, it didn't cost that much, and a Titan really isn't that bad ;)

The 3lap could go lower, but it would just take too long. It had a best split laps 1 and 3, and a decent lap 2. I jumped right to my PR from 1:39.0, and have only subbed 1:39 once since then. My first Hero B 3lap would be cool, but I can get it later when I'm even better. I did spend much less time on this than on MB 3lap though...

YC is next, and Expert B/Hero will be my minimum goals, although I can probably do better.

Andrew Koltz

YC: 1:45.314 and 33.515

When I first started playing, I didn't think I'd even come close to either of these. After a long and hurtful journey, I finally reached a Hero 3lap with the help of a near-best split lap 2. Splits: 36.56/34.28/34.47. The opener was decent, and I was very lucky to not crash the final lap. Never mind that the lap was actually good... My max for now is around sub 1:45, but this PR should be good enough for a while.

I didn't think my flap would go too far past Hero, but it ended up as my second highest standard at Hero A :) I'm very happy with it, but I could maybe get a 33.4xx with a lot more trying. If I wanted a Titan though, I would have to add in another MT somewhere. However, I don't really need to beat my second best time right now ;)

Andrew Koltz

LC: 1:17.970 and 25.040

I decided to have a quick one-off try on LC, but stayed longer than I expected and eventually reached the Expert C 3lap I had wanted for a while. A flap attempt later on turned into a shocking 1:18.7, which made me want an Expert A. I later realized how much time I could save by using the faster shroomspot, and I knew a Hero was within reach. My first ever 3lap attempt with the last corner shroom was a 1:18.0, so I thought subbing would be easy. After what was definitely one of the most painful hours I've spent on kart, I drove a race that I thought would be my fourth (!) 1:18.0. I shut my eyes when the timer got to 1:17, and opened them to a 1:17 :) The race didn't even feel good, and my last lap was the only reason I got it. The splits were 26.59/25.81/25.57, which is pretty representative of the session. Two below average laps, but a desperate effort worked this time around. I didn't think I would even sub 1:19 when I started, so a 1:17 is just crazy 8)

I spent a couple hours on the flap with my old shroomstrat, finally reaching a Hero before switching. My very first attempt with the proper strat was an unbelieveable 25.09, and it took several hours of practicing to finally beat it and reach Hero A. I could get a Titan if I played it to death, but why beat a high Hero when I still have multiple pathetic Beginner times? I am confident that I will get the sub at some point, but it won't happen now.

Andrew Koltz

LC: 1:17.498 and 24.949

After a week-long struggle, I finally subbed 25 for the Titan and by a good .05! After beating my old PR several times I really didn't want to leave it at 25 flat, right on the doorstep of Titan. I thought I would need a perfect lap to sub, but this lap didn't feel that great O.O

The 3lap was a result of getting bored with the flap, although I never expected to get my first Hero B course time. I was happy with a 1:17.7 HC, but I later pushed it some more to edge out the Hero B standard. The laps were 26.44/25.57/25.49, and lap 3 is a best split although I could probably drive a 25.3xx 1-shroom if I actually spent time trying to. Lap 1 is .05 off my best split, and this was a solid race overall.

I'll be submitting my DDD times as soon as I can sub 1:35 and get a Hero B lap...

Andrew Koltz

PB: 1:10.127 and 22.487
DDD: 1:34.856 and 29.364
MB: 1:20.672 and 26.191
MCR: 1:30.279 and 28.432
WC: 2:03.700 and 1:01.143

I have no clue why I waited to send all these, I don't normally hoard but whatever. Relatively short summaries below, check the forum if you want to read more. Courses are in game order, although I played them DDD, MB, WC, MCR, PB :P

I played PB just to see how bad my old PRs were, and I almost beat my 3lap the first try O_O From there it quickly went down to 1:10.5, but all the improvements from there on were hard to get. My PR had splits of 23.91/22.69/23.52; the opener wasmy first sub 24 and the last two laps were both good but not great. Although I didn't play here for a long time, the 3lap is very maxed and I don't think it could sub. The flap put up a small fight at first, then came a few tiny improvements. Then I somehow smashed it by .11 down to 22.51, which made me think a Titan was possible. After maybe an hour I reached it with a very clean lap, and although I have low 22.4 potential I am happy with this. Both times are great, especially considering how little time I invested here.

Both DDD times can go lower, but they're good enough for now. 3lap splits were 31.06/30.76/33.04, last lap could have been .3-.4 better but first two were nice. The flap could probably reach 29.2xx if I tried more, but I left this course right when I started to get the hang of the shroom...

MB 3lap is my first Titan 3lap and by a lot O_O My first sub 1:21 run missed Titan C by just .003 so I kept trying and later got it by a good bit. Splits were 27.34/26.40/26.93, all laps were very strong. The flap is a Titan+ and beats updater Alex! My second finished run when I started trying was a 26.37 Titan D, and I eventually got it down past the old GOD standard of 26.2 :) The lap was very strong, but if I added A-Tech it's an easy Myth :/

I didn't plan to play MCR any time soon, but my old PRs were too crappy to leave alone. I quickly beat the flap several times, but the last .15 I cut to reach Titan B didn't come easy. It is now my highest ranked time at #55! The 3lap went down to 1:30.6 Hero C pretty quickly, but reaching Hero B was surprisingly hard. My PR's splits were 31.11/30.32/28.85, lap 1 was okay but lap 2 was amazing and the 2-shroom was nice as well. I definitely can't beat it now, but when I come back I would like to sub 1:30...

After fixing my L button I just had to try WC, and I saw how beatable my old PRs were. Both fell in 15 minutes with a 2:04.9/1:02.1 double PR, but the lap was just a 1-shroomer! It took 2 more hours to drive a clean 2-shroomer, and it was just a 1:01.6. I was having trouble cutting .15 for Hero B, but then I drove a lap where all the crucial spots were perfect. It just made Hero A, but it had a missed MT :( I got the 2lap while going for the flap; when I saw a best split 1:02.06 opener I made sure to finish the flap, and a 1:01.64 was exactly what I wanted. Neither lap had missed MTs, and that helped me sub 2:04 by so much.

I will be gone the next three weeks, so that means no more PRs and resulting stories until August ;(

Andrew Koltz