How do you know you have beaten a time trial staff ghost in Mario kart?

In time trial mode the staff ghosts start with the name "nin*" which is obviously short for Nintendo, followed by their name. Use the 1 or 2 button to select the ghost you wish to race against and then d pad down and select challenge this ghost. Most tracks require you to beat the "normal" staff ghost by around 7 seconds (average, shorter tracks around 4 seconds, and the longer tracks around 10 seconds) when you beat the standard staff ghosts by the required margin you will unlock the expert staff ghosts as well as new vehicles.

The best way to beat the staff ghosts is to learn all the short cuts and strategic places to use the three boosts that you get. When having trouble beating a ghost i watch the ghost data replay and see how they get the good time, and experiment with different vehicles, I never use the Bowser bike for any normal races but have found it is one of the best in time trails because of its speed. I have also found bikes are generally better for time trails because of the mini boost when doing wheelies, do as many as you can.

Good Luck and see you on the WFC