Freeplay
Freeplay is great for a quick race or to practice a track that you haven't quite mastered yet. This option allows you to select any course that you've already unlocked in tournament mode. You can select your tournament racer (complete with any upgrades) or simply select "Practice" to pick from one of the starting racers and pods.

From the Track Details screen, you can alter the number of laps in a given race (from one to five - remember that all tournament races are three laps). You can also change the number of racers on the course (2, 4, 8 or 12) and the speed of the AI drivers (slow, average or fast). Simply move your control stick up/down to select the item to alter, and move the stick left/right to cycle through the possible values.

Time Attack
Time Attack gives you a chance to shoot for track speed records (single lap and whole race). As in Freeplay, you can select your tournament racer or select the Practice option to select a temporary racer.

In a Time Attack, it's only you against the clock (no other racers will be on the track), so this is a great place to go to hone your skills on a given track once you've unlocked it.

2 Player
The 2 Player option allows you to compete against a friend head-to-head. The screen will be split horizontally, with player one on the top. As in the above two race types, you can select any unlocked track and select either a tournament racer or a practice racer.

Due to the small amount of screen real estate given to each pod racer, there is no overhead map view - so you better compete on a course that you've already committed to memory. The center of the screen displays two moving "flags" which will indicate your position as well as how far into the current lap you are (all the way to the right means that you're approaching the finish line).