Chapter 073

Racing in the Rain (見せてくれ 雨のダウンヒル!!, Misete Kure Ame no Daunhiru!!, "Downhill in the rain!!") is the seventy-third chapter of Initial D.

Plot
The cars come through the final corners into the straightaway, thrilling the spectators. Keisuke uses his car to prevent Nakazato from accelerating properly out of the turn. Keisuke's FD mounts the curb, and he takes the lead, winning the race.

Nakazato confronts Keisuke, and calls him lucky. Keisuke disagrees, and tells him that he was fully aware of how much grip he had, and that he wouldn't understand as his GT-R has more equipment that would prevent him from being able to feel the vibration of the wheels. He tells him that he pushed his car too hard, which prevented him from having the grip he needed for the final stretch. Nakazato can't think of anything to say to him as he walks away, and admits that he lost to the better driver.

Itsuki celebrates the Keisuke's victory. Takumi realises he doesn't feel right just watching others battle, and wants to have another race.

Ryosuke tells Keisuke that they've cancelled the downhill due to the rain, but the crowd isn't leaving. Kenta asks to do an exhibition run, as he has experience in the rain. Keisuke tells him that nobody would want to race against him in the rain, but Kenta reminds him that Takumi is on the mountain.

Japan

 * Feburary 3rd 1997 (Weekly Young Magazine, 1997 Volume 7)
 * June 6th 1997 (Tankōbon, Volume 07)

Chinese

 * July 1st 1998 (Tankōbon, Volume 07, Sharp Point Press)

English

 * August 5th 2003 (Tankōbon, Volume 07, Tokyopop)
 * April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 07, Kodansha USA)

French

 * February 25th 2010 (Tankōbon, Volume 07, Kazé)

Italian

 * August 29th 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 04, J-Pop)

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Takeshi Nakazato
 * Keisuke Takahashi
 * Itsuki Takeuchi
 * Takumi Fujiwara
 * Kenta Nakamura
 * Shingo Shoji
 * Ryosuke Takahashi
 * Fumihiro

Cars (in order of appearance)

 * Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
 * Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR32)