Akina SpeedStars

The Akina SpeedStars (秋名スピードスターズ, Akina Supīdosutāzu) are a Gunma-based team led by Koichiro Iketani. Their home course is Akina Pass. They are an amateur level team, with lower skill than most other teams. At the beginning of the series there were many members of the SpeedStars, however less and less appear as the series progresses, suggesting that they are either busy or have left the team.

Takumi Fujiwara is considered an honorary member of the team (although the Tokyopop version of the manga incorrectly lists him as a true member), as he has battled on behalf of the SpeedStars on several occasions, yet never wearing the team stickers.

Trivia

 * The SpeedStars are the first team introduced in Initial D
 * The members of the SpeedStars (Iketani, Itsuki and Kenji) appear in MF Ghost.
 * The team is named after Speed Star Wheel (now known as SSR Wheel). In the early chapters of the manga the sticker on Iketani's car reads Spirit, suggesting that this may have been the planned name of the team before it was changed.