What racing genre is Crash Team Racing classified as?

Crash Team Racing is classified as a kart racing game.

Released for the original PlayStation in 1999, Crash Team Racing puts Crash Bandicoot characters into colorful go-kart competitions rather than realistic motorsport. Naughty Dog developed it as the fourth Crash Bandicoot game and drew inspiration from popular kart racers such as Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing.

Kart racing usually emphasizes drifting, item attacks, shortcuts, exaggerated tracks, and accessible vehicle handling. Crash Team Racing includes all of those conventions, with weapons and defensive items such as missiles, bombs, shields, and the Aku Aku or Uka Uka masks. That makes “simulation racing” an especially misleading alternative: the game is not designed to reproduce real-world vehicle physics.

The title is also sometimes shortened to CTR, and its 2019 remake, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, retains the same kart-racing identity while adding content from Crash Nitro Kart and later Crash games.