Stage 4, Episode 2
Short summary
The race between Takumi and Tohru continues, and Takumi is still on Tohru's tail. One of the differences between the two is the ability to determine which stretches are ok to go all out and which ones aren't. Because of this, Takumi is a little faster between exiting one corner and breaking for the next. When they reach the area where the gutters are uncovered, Takumi uses the shortcut over the gutters that Ryosuke has taught him. By shifting as much weight off of the front inside tire as possible, he is able to attack the corner at full speeds by floating his front inside tire over the gutter. With this, he was able to pass Tohru from the inside. Tohru is shocked but notices what Takumi is doing in the next corner. He attempts the same technique, but falls in the gutter, causing his car to flip over. He loses the race, and the uphill battle begins. Keisuke takes the victory over Atsurou (race not shown). The next day, Tohru tells Nao that he quits racing as he had promised but is also relieved and happy that he met Project D. At night, a yellow Honda Civic is driving at a mountain pass.
Longer summary
The race between Takumi and Tohru continues, and the Seven Star Leaf is surprised that they're almost halfway through the course yet Takumi is still on Tohru's tail. Atsurou realizes that this downhill race will become dangerous since Tohru does not like losing and will be increasing his pace even more. Tohru is driving at his best yet he still can't lose the Hachi Roku.
As Takumi tails Tohru, he begins to understand the differences between how the two drive although he wonders why his Hachi Roku is faster between exiting one corner and breaking for the next. It's not the difference between their cars' powers though. Meanwhile, Ryosuke explains to Hiroshi and Keisuke that on complex mountain passes, there are stretches where it's hard to to distinguish whether it's a straightaway or a corner. The difference in abilities between Takumi and his opponent is the ability to tell where you can and cannot go all out. This is one of Ryosuke's important points in his theory for being the fastest on the road.
Takumi and Tohru reach the area where the gutters are uncovered. Ryosuke had taught a technique to Takumi that is opposite of what he used to do with the gutter at Akina (dropping his tires in to withstand the centrifugal force and turn from the inside). The two are about to attack another corner with the gutter when Takumi sees the line to take. He parallels with Tohru from the outside and plans on taking the next corner from the inside. Tohru is not willing to let Takumi pass him and blocks the inside lane in his turn. However, Takumi manages to pass him from the inside anyway by taking a shortcut using the gutter. When going through corners at high speeds, most of the car's weight is on the two outer tires. The weight can then be shifted onto the rear of the car by opening up the accelerator even more. This takes as much weight off of the front inside tire as possible. It allowed for Takumi's Hachi Roku to take the corner at full speeds while floating his inside tire over the gutter.
Tohru is shocked that the Hachi Roku could overtake him when he left no room for it to pass on the inside. He waits for another corner to see how he did it and notices the trick. He then attempts it himself but falls into the gutter and cannot get his car back up. The car flips over, but Tohru was not hurt from the crash. The race is over. The win goes to Project D.
The uphill race is about to start, and as with the downhill, the Seven Star Leaf starts in the front. Before they head off, Tohru advises Atsurou to stick to the inside where the gutters are uncovered and to not leave his opponent any room.
(Note: The race between Keisuke and Atsurou is not shown, but Keisuke wins.)
The next day, Kenji goes to inform Iketani and Itsuki of Project D's win at Tochigi. They realize Takumi's improvement. Unfortunately, they can't say the same for themselves. During this, Tohru breaks the news to Nao that he lost the battle and will quit racing. Nao is shocked that Tohru would actually quit and told him that she said those things just to spite him. Tohru admits that it felt good to be beaten so badly though since he had such high confidence on his home course. He's glad that he met Project D and is amazed by them.
At night, a yellow Honda Civic is driving on a mountain pass...
