Speed Lap is a mode featured in the WipEout series, where the main objective is to set the fastest time possible in one lap.
Speed Lap is formally featured in WipEout Pulse, WipEout HD and WipEout 2048.
In WipEout Pulse's Speed Lap, the player is given 7 laps to achieve the fastest single lap time possible.
The player is given infinite Ship Energy and a Turbo each lap. The session can be ended early by pausing the game and selecting End Session from the menu. However, selecting Quit Race will exit to the Main Menu without saving the run instead.
On the results screen, it's possible to save a replay of the current run, which is called a Ghost. The game will attempt to load the player's Ghost for the current track configuration upon starting a new Speed Lap session, letting them compare their current run against their best time.
In WipEout HD's Speed Lap, the player is given a certain number of laps - 7 in Campaign events and 99 in Racebox events - to achieve the fastest single lap time possible.
In addition to infinite Ship Energy and a Turbo each lap, the player has the ability to reset a lap, invalidating the time and immediately giving them a Turbo. There is no limit to the number of times the player can do this in a lap, but to trigger a reset, they need to hold a button - L1 by default - for ~3 seconds.
The session can be ended early by pausing the game and selecting End Session from the menu. Upon ending a Speed Lap session the game will automatically save the player's fastest run in the form of a Ghost, which will be flying around the track during the next Speed Lap session of the same track configuration. The Ghost can be hidden from the Pause Menu.
In WipEout 2048's Speed Lap, the player is allowed to drive around the track endlessly, to achieve the fastest single lap time possible. The session has to be ended from the Pause Menu.
Unlike previous iterations of Speed Lap, the player is only given infinite Ship Energy, they are not given a Turbo every lap.
Upon ending a Speed Lap session the game will automatically save the best lap of the session in the form of a Ghost. The player is also given the option to upload their Ghost as a near gift, which can then be downloaded and played against by other players who live geographically nearby. 1)
By default the game will display the Ghost of the player's best time, but, from the Pause Menu, the player is allowed the choice to:
Free Play mode in WipEout Pure is a precursor to Speed Lap, letting the player drive around the track endlessly, tracking the best time they drove in one lap.