Standing Start

Overview

A standing start is a start in auto racing where the cars are stationary as the race begins. Standing starts are common in many forms of motorsport. Usually, cars are stopped on the grid, while a set of lights will signal the start of the race. The starting command in a standing start will be a set of red lights followed by a green one that will commence racing (Lakitu's Start Signal from the Mario Kart series is also acceptable in this way, which also starts the battle in that series). Standing starts occur after the parade or pace lap as the cars line up to their starting position. There is also a single-kart version in various Mario Kart time trials.

Standing starts are considered safer than rolling starts on road courses. This is because in some racing series, the cars' high acceleration may cause problems in a rolling start. However, during a standing start, some cars may stall on the grid and remain stationary on track. Standing starts are normally not used for race restarts.

Standing starts are the most common style of race starts in video gaming, as it is the most simple to implement in a racing game. As a result, most arcade-style racing games utilize a standing start. They appear in nearly every racing game spanning several sub-genres of racing games including: GT Pro Series, Super Hang-On, ModNation Racers, the Gran Turismo series, the Formula 1 series, and the entire Mario Kart series of games.