Athens Dash is a track that was first featured in the Spring Tour in Mario Kart Tour. Like Piranha Plant Cove and Rome Avanti, this course first debuted with two variants rather than one, with its 3rd variant debuting in the 4th Anniversary Tour. It made a return in Wave 5 of the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as the first track of the Feather Cup. With this city track, it is set in the location of Athens, Greece, where multiple landmarks such as the Acropolis, Parthenon, and Panathenaic Stadium can be seen.
Layout[]
Mario Kart Tour[]
Athens Dash's routes start in the Párthenon, located close to the centre of the map at the top of the Akrópolis. The first route starts facing west, leading to the southern half of the Akrópolis; there, landmarks such as the Theatre of Dionysus (Théatron Dionusósio) and the Arch of Hadrian (Ápsida Hadriānósio) can be seen. The second route starts facing west, leaving the Akrópolis to visit various locations to the north. The third route starts facing west, visitin the aforementioned theatre and a second theatre at the southewestern corner of the map called the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Odeîon Hērodèsio Attikósio).
Athens Dash 1[]
This route focuses on the lower part of the Akrópolis to the south of where the racers start. Racers start off inside the Parthenon. After they leave the Parthenon, the racers soon take a left turn before going downhill to approach some ruins, getting the choice of whether to jump off a ramp and drive along the floor or drive on top of some arches for some coins. After avoiding some ruins that create a fork, racers drive up a ramp before landing on the Theatre of Dionysus. The track curves along the theatre's seats, with are filled with Dash Panels, and the racers take two left turns and encounter a cannon, making their way back up to the top of the Acropolis via a tunnel. The path after the tunnel and left turn which utilizes a half-pipe, taking them back to the Parthenon to reach the Finish Line.
Athens Dash 2[]
This route starts off in the direction opposite to the first, and visits the area north of the Akrópolis. Racers start in the opposite direction to Athens Dash 1, and after they leave the Parthenon, they take a left turn to reach the Erectheion briefly before they encounter a glider ramp, which they use to go down to a street that resembles the Monastiraki, driving down many sets of stairs whilst they approach a U-bend that utilizes a half-pipe. They then approach the Roman Agora while avoiding Thwomps. The racers then start driving uphill whilst they avoid boulders that tumble down the road; a shortcut can be found in this zone, which goes through a tunnel. A wide left turn takes racers to the top of the Acropolis, where they drive beneath the Beulé Gate and the Propylaea (heading up a flight of stairs divided into three) and have only a straightaway left before reaching the finish line. Further up the steps, there is a Carboard Goomba blocking the middle route that leads to to a Dash Panel ramp.
Athens Dash 3[]
This route, as with the first route, visits the south half of the Akrópolis. The racers will be facing east like in Athens Dash 2, starting within the Parthenon. At the intersection, they turn right onto the oblique crossroad, heading south. This is followed by a single drop leading down into the Theatre of Dionysus. The racers exit through the back, heading south into a ruined area, then turning right. They then head west along the south half of the Akrópolis. Before heading back to the starting line, the racers divert into a tunnel that leads into the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, going northwest through the stands. This is followed by a sharp right turn. The racers go up the stairs back to the Parthenon, where the starting line awaits. As with Athens Dash 2, the staircase is split into three sets.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[]
Athens Dash reappears as a track in the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. As with the other city course conversions in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Athens Dash's variations were mixed and combined to form it into a proper course, alongside visual upgrades. As with N64 Kalimari Desert, there are only two laps in this version, with one lap being split into two sections as an extra Mario Kart banner on the south path at the intersection behind the Párthenon has been added.
The first lap starts as Athens Dash 1, but the Dash Panels at the Theatre of Dionysus have been removed, the cannon has been replaced with a standard glider ramp, and after getting back to the top of the mountain, racers take the south path instead of going to the Parthenon, sending them to the second section. The second lap starts as Athens Dash 3. Here, there are lots of drops for performing tricks on, which go through the Theatre of Dionysus. Racers then traverse the ruins area from Athens Dash 1 in reverse, starting with a right turn that is used in the R variant of said track. Instead of going back to the Parthenon that way, racers go past the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and each the Parthenon from there. This sends racers to the Finish Line in the opposite direction from the beginning. This starts the final lap, which plays exactly like Athens Dash 2, but without the Thwomps.
Variants Each Lap and Section Take From[]
| Lap/Section | Variant |
|---|---|
| 1 | Athens Dash 1 |
| 2 | Athens Dash 3 |
| 3 | Athens Dash 2 |
Shortcuts[]
- After the Theater of Dionysus, there is a large grass patch in between the u-turn. Use a Mushroom or boost item to cut through it effectively.
- There is another grass patch that can be cut after going over the Theater of Dionysus.
- There is a Dash Panel ramp in the Parthenon that takes racers to the Finish Line. However, a Cardboard Goomba is in the way, and racers that touch it without a Mushroom will spin out.
- In the mountain section, there is a tunnel with Dash Panels. the first portion features grass, requiring a Mushroom or boost item to reach it effectively.
- The grass patches at the start of the track can also be cut effectively with a Mushroom of boost item.
Staff Ghosts[]
| Character | Recorder | Time | Vehicle Combination | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Tires | Glider | |||
| 150cc | |||||
 |
Nin★Pedro | 1:52.892 |  |
 |
 |
| 200cc | |||||
 |
Nin★Massim | 1:21.362 |  |
 |
 |
Gallery[]
Mario Kart Tour[]
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[]
.png "Athens Dash Icon (8 Deluxe).png (136 KB)"){kind=icon}
Trivia![]
- This course was originally supposed to come in Wave 6 of the Booster Course Pass as the first course of the Spiny Cup (as evidenced by it being labeled in the files as "Cnsw_65"), but it got pushed up to Wave 5 for as of yet unknown reasons.
- This is the only course in the Booster Course Pass to have the first lap split into two sections, in a reversal of N64 Kalimari Desert. Los Angeles Laps doesn't count due to the entire course being a single lap in the Booster Course Pass.
- Athens Dash is the second city course that reappeared as a classic course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, in which a third route was later debuted in Mario Kart Tour in the 4th Anniversary Tour.
- The first being Sydney Sprint, in which its third route debuted in Mario Kart Tour in the 3rd Anniversary Tour.
Current track:
Athens Dash 1 & 2 Athens Dash 3 |
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Previous track:
Tour Singapore Speedway |
1st reappearance:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
Next track:
GCN Daisy Cruiser |
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