To complete the ‘Ghostbuster’ daily challenge, grab any 1980s car, open Rivals, scroll to the bottom of the leaderboard to find the slowest ghost time, and drive one clean lap to beat…
To complete the ‘Ghostbuster’ daily challenge, grab any 1980s car, open Rivals, scroll to the bottom of the leaderboard to find the slowest ghost time, and drive one clean lap to beat it.
The Horizon Decades Summer Festival in Forza Horizon 6 brings a new rotation of daily challenges, and one of the trickier ones to parse is the “Ghostbuster” objective. It asks you to beat a Rivals Ghost in any car from the 1980s, but the game doesn’t explicitly tell you how to find an easy target. The core strategy is exploiting the Rivals leaderboard: instead of racing the fastest player on the track, you manually scroll to the very bottom and challenge someone with a glacially slow lap time.
Understanding the Ghostbuster challenge requirements
This objective is tied to the Series 2 “Horizon Decades” Festival Playlist and unlocks on June 23. Completing it rewards you with 5,000 credits and 1 Playlist point toward your Summer Festival total. The challenge expires seven days from its start time, so you have a full week to get it done.
The biggest hurdle players face is not the driving itself, but the game’s lack of explanation around how Rivals matchmaking works. You do not need to win an entire Rivals event or climb to the top of the leaderboard. You only need to beat a single ghost’s lap time in an eligible vehicle. Because you can manually select which rival to challenge, you can effectively choose your own difficulty by picking a rival who barely moved during their lap.
How to beat a Rivals Ghost in a 1980s car
STEP 1/10
Go to your garage
Head to the cars menu and select change car to pick a new vehicle.
STEP 2/10
Sport by year
Press the sort button (X on Xbox) and choose year to organize your garage chronologically.
STEP 3/10
Select a 1980s car
Pick any vehicle manufactured in the 1980s to meet the challenge requirement.
STEP 4/10
Open Rivals
Drive to any race start line and open the Rivals menu from the event options.
STEP 5/10
Choose a short circuit
Pick the shortest road racing circuit you can find to make the lap quick.
STEP 6/10
Check the time to beat
However over a class and wait for it to load without entering yet, checking the rival time on the right.
STEP 7/10
Challenge your rival
If the time to beat is not extremely long, press Y on Xbox to select a new rival.
STEP 8/10
Scroll to the bottom
Hold down on the controller or drag the PC scroll bar to the very bottom of the leaderboard.
STEP 9/10
Select a slow ghost
Pick a rival with a massive lap time (like 9 or 10 minutes) and confirm the selection.
STEP 10/10
Drive one clean lap
Start the event and complete a single lap without hitting walls to beat the ghost’s time.
Video help
Driving the lap and ensuring the challenge registers
Once you have selected a ghost with an absurdly high lap time, the actual driving phase is straightforward, but a few specific actions ensure the game logs your completion. Start the event and focus on driving a clean line. Because the ghost you selected is incredibly slow—sometimes appearing not to move at all—there is no rush to push for a fast time. Your only goal is to cross the finish line ahead of them.
Common mistakes that block challenge completion
Another major pitfall is where you launch Rivals from. Community reports indicate that starting Rivals from the main hub menu might not register the challenge at all. Instead, drive to a physical road event marker on the map and launch Rivals from that specific race start to ensure the playlist tracks your progress.
Players also confuse this daily challenge with the Monthly Rivals event. The Monthly Rivals takes place on the Narai-Juku Circuit and requires posting a single clean lap in a provided 1993 Porsche 911 Turbo S Leichtbau to earn a Super Wheelspin and 4 series points. That is a separate event with its own restrictions, and completing it will not check off the 1980s daily challenge.
Scroll to the very bottom of the Rivals leaderboard and select a ghost with a 9- or 10-minute lap time so you only have to finish a single clean lap to win.
| Challenge Name | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Ghostbuster Daily | Beat a Rivals Ghost in any 1980s car | 5,000 credits + 1 Playlist point |
| Monthly Rivals | Post a clean lap on the Narai-Juku Circuit in the 1993 Porsche 911 Turbo S Leichtbau | Super Wheelspin + 4 Series points |
| DeLorean Weekly | Own a 1982 DeLorean DMC-12, maintain 88 mph for 10 seconds, take a photo, and win a road race | 5 Playlist points |
| The Trial | Win “Push it to the Limit” in a B-600 1980s Total Rally car against Unbeatable Drivatars | 1986 Audi #2 Audi Sport quattro S1 (10 points) |
After knocking out the Ghostbuster daily, you will want to maximize your Summer Playlist points to unlock the season’s headline rewards. Reaching 40 Playlist points unlocks the 1988 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV before the season reportedly ends on June 25. You can also work toward the 1986 Audi #2 Audi Sport quattro S1 by preparing a B-600 1980s Total Rally car for “The Trial” against Unbeatable Drivatars. Below is a summary of the adjacent Festival tasks to help you plan your remaining points.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to win the entire Rivals event to complete the daily challenge?
No, you do not need to win the entire event or climb to the top of the leaderboard. You only need to beat a single rival’s ghost time in an eligible 1980s car. Because you can manually select which rival to challenge, you can scroll to the bottom of the leaderboard and pick the slowest time available to guarantee an easy win.
What happens if I hit a wall or use a rewind during my lap?
Community reports indicate that the game often requires a clean lap to register the challenge completion. Hitting walls or using rewinds can invalidate your lap time, and even if you still beat the ghost, a messy lap may fail to trigger the playlist update. Drive carefully and avoid collisions to ensure the objective ticks off.
Why didn’t my challenge complete even though I beat a ghost?
The most common reasons for completion failing to register are launching Rivals from the main hub instead of a road event marker, quitting before the results screen fully loads, or driving a dirty lap with collisions. Make sure you start Rivals from a physical race marker on the map, let the results screen process completely, and drive a clean lap in a proper 1980s car.
