I was thinking about what a remake could be like, and I came up with 2 ideas I think are neat

>make the most out of the small race maps by having the player go down different routes on each lap
>have vehicles dynamically shift during races. your vehicle automatically changes from land/air/sea as you approach certain areas

Here's a vague proof of concept. (Also for Hot Top Volcano make it so the volcano is erupting AS you're racing, so you start in a car and drive through the cave, then lap 2 you hovercraft through the cave as it's all turning into lava, then lap 3 you fly and everything is fully taken over by lava)