When the game is in attract mode, the explanatory text "UP TO 2/4/6/8 (the number depends on how many two-player cabinets are linked together; however, if you are using MAME to play the game, it will be 1, given that the emulator does not support link plays) PLAYERS CAN RACE SIMULTANEOUSLY. RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK WHEN OTHERS ARE ON THE TRACK OR RACE HEAD-TO-HEAD BY STARTING SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH OTHER PLAYERS." will scroll past at the top of the screen while it is displaying its gameplay demonstrations and pointing out "MY CAR", "OTHER PLAYERS", and "CPU (GREEN CAR)" - the player's car will then race off into the distance and the colour of the sky will darken as the gameplay demonstration transforms into the title screen.
As with the two Pole Position and Thunder Ceptor games, the game will start as soon as you have inserted your coin; a swimsuit-wearing woman (who is holding a red-and-white umbrella) will then run off the track to the right side of the screen as a seven-note jingle is heard from the Yamaha YM-2151. In the single player mode, your score will be based on how far your car travels before the timer (which starts at 70 seconds) runs out or you manage to complete four laps of the Suzuka Circuit - and as with the "qualifying lap" in both Pole Position games, you will start the race by yourself, but encounter CPU-controlled cars on the track later. In the multiplayer mode, your position at the start of the race will based on your player number (and your car will be indicated upon the overhead map of the Suzuka Circuit in red); the CPU-controlled cars will also appear less frequently, allowing for better lap times.
When the counter appears on the screen and counts down from "03" to "00", you should be in low gear with the gas pedal fully down; as you accelerate away from the starting line, and pass a grandstand for Mobil Cabin on the left side of the track and a billboard for Namco, Amusement Creator on the right side of the track, you should shift into high gear at around 100 km/h as you pass two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the curve north-east on them on the left side of the track. You should then stay in high gear for the rest of the race, as you turn to the right and pass two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the curved north-west on them on the left side of the track, along with a sixth billboard for Arai Helmet and two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the curve north-west on them upon the right side of the track - unless you hit a CPU-controlled car or a billboard and go spinning off the track, which can cost you valuable seconds. You will then have to turn to the left as you pass a tree on the left side of the track, then turn to the right as you pass another tree on the right side of the track; you will then have to turn to the left again as you pass two more trees on the left side of the track, then turn to the right again as you pass under the bridge for Dunlop Formula. You will then have to turn to the left as you pass two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the curved north-west on them upon that right side of the track, then turn to the right as you pass two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the curved north-east on them on the left side of the track, along with a thirteenth billboard for Kenwood on the right side of the track, before passing under the second bridge for Marlboro - and you will then have to turn to the left as you pass a fourteenth billboard for Shell on the right side of the track, along with two more arrows pointing in a left "U"-turn on both sides of the track, and a seventeenth billboard for Lucas on the right side of the track. You will then have to turn to the right as you pass a fifth tree on the left side of the track, along with an eighteenth billboard for Nikon on the right side of the track, and two more billboards for Seiko and Aporoiru on the left side of the track, then turn to the left as you pass two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the curve north-west on them on the right side of the track, along with three more trees on both sides of the track, two more further billboards with an arrow pointing to the curved north-west on them on the right side of the track, and a twenty-fifth billboard for John Player Special on the left side of the track; you will have to turn to the left again as you pass eight more trees upon both sides of the track, along with two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the curve north-west on them upon both sides of the track, two more trees on both sides of the track, a twenty-eighth billboard for Rothmans Tobacco on the left side of the track, and a twenty-ninth billboard for Goodyear on the right side of the track. You will have to turn to the right as you pass two more billboards with an arrow pointing to the zigzagged (not curved) north-east on them on both sides of the track, along with two more billboards for Casio upon that left side of the track - and you will then have to turn to the left, as you pass two final billboards for Bridgestone and Agip on the left side of the track. Once you have completed a full lap of the track, the text "TIME EXTENDED LAP TIME XX.XX" will flash on the screen ("XX.XX" being your lap time) and you will gain 35 additional seconds of racing time to try and complete another lap; once you have completed four laps of the track, another woman will wave a chequered flag in front of your car as it races off into the distance, and the text "OFFICIAL RESULT" will appear on the screen with your position (1st-8th) below it. The distance you travelled in metres, your number of laps, your fastest lap time, and your ranking will then be displayed below that - and if your distance was more than 8193 metres, or your total time was less than 4:35:18, the game will go into best-time mode, so you should enter your name (up to five characters) upon the table with pride. Once you have done so, the game will go back into attract mode.