Bowser Castle 1

Bowser Castle 1 is a race course from Super Mario Kart, appearing as the fourth race of the Mushroom Cup. It is a stone road residing in a pool of lava.

The most dangerous obstacles are the Thwomps. They appear in groups of four. The Thwomps stay in the air during the first lap, then try to crush the players afterwards. They can also be a simple barrier on the ground. Another danger is the lava. There are gaps of lava that can be crossed with use of the yellow jump lines. If the player jumps in the wrong direction, however, it is possible to fall into the lava. There is no real shortcut in this course, however the player may use the zippers halfway on the track. Since they are not used by computer drivers, it can help to pass them and save time.

The course reappears again in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. It is the fourth and final course of the Extra Mushroom Cup. It uses the background appearing in that game's own Bowser Castle 1. It has an extra item box to the right of the bend that comes before the first lava hops. The Thwomps and zippers are not present in this version of the track.

Trivia

 * The music for this course (and subsequent Bowser Castle courses) is a variation of Bowser's battle theme from Super Mario World.
 * This is the only course in the Mushroom Cup in Super Mario Kart that has yet to return to Mario Kart Tour. Like the other Bowser Castle courses, it is also the only course in the aforementioned cup to not reappear in a later Mario Kart game as a classic course.