Keisuke Takahashi vs Hideo Minagawa

The battle between Keisuke Takahashi and Hideo Minagawa is the forty-third battle of Initial D.

Prior to the Battle
Following the battle between Takumi Fujiwara and Kai Kogashiwa, Keisuke is promptly matched with Hideo Minagawa for the next battle. Minagawa notes that Keisuke has consecutive wins against 4WD cars and chooses him to start in the lead position, telling Keisuke to "let me see your proud sprint dash". Keisuke tells Kenta Nakamura that this battle has a "special meaning" to him.

During the Battle
Keisuke starts in the lead position as Minagawa wished. The battle begins and Keisuke appears to hold back as usual, waiting for the right moment to sprint off. Minagawa arrogantly states that the "amateurs" Keisuke previously faced couldn't use their car's full potential, stating that he could overtake Keisuke simply by using tire management. Ryosuke Takahashi discusses his decision to choose Takumi Fujiwara over Keisuke for Project D's battle with Tachi Tomoyuki. While spectating, Eiji Kubo and Go Hojo evaluate Keisuke's potential, noting his refined accelerator work. They state that Minagawa has a few advantages but point out that his Supra has an incredibly heavy body as compared to Keisuke's light, nimble FD3S. As the battle continues, Ryosuke states that Minagawa's professionalism is something that street racers cannot attain. He also has a flashback to himself giving Keisuke a "training" menu to improve his accelerator proficiency following the Project D expedition in the Tochigi prefecture. During the discussion between them, Ryosuke explains that five round trips a day is enough, and that Keisuke should write down his times and explain why he was too fast or too slow compared to the set times Ryosuke put on the menu. When Keisuke expresses that the times on the menu are slower compared to Akagi's record time, Ryosuke explains that it is never good to be too fast or too slow, aiming for one set time with precision. After the flashback, Ryosuke explains to Fumihiro that the training menu was slightly altered for Keisuke, but is still very similar to the training menu he was given when he was younger. He also gives a more in-depth explanation of the reasoning for the menu, stating that driving blindly at full throttle will only put stress on the car, not improve your skills, where with the menu, Keisuke would be able to learn the technique of controlling the throttle precisely. He also states that in rainy conditions, the driver has to be creative when setting the pace due to the changing friction of the road surfaces. He also states that the menu will also help Keisuke rely on an "internal clock" to judge time management rather than stopwatch times through repetitive, simple training. He also says that the daily report gave Keisuke a logical foundation for his driving style as well as a habit of analyzing things rationally. Meanwhile, Keisuke begins to speed up a little more in an attempt to get away from Minagawa, with Minagawa attempting to put pressure on Keisuke. Go Hojo and Eiji Kubo state that the race might be decided by whether Keisuke succumbs to the pressure or continues to fight. Minagawa notes that he will likely lose the race if Keisuke doesn't back down soon due to the higher tyre wear that he suffered. This is due to the fact that Minagawa's car is heavier compared to Keisuke's. Eventually, he bumped onto Keisuke to signify that he have forfeited the race.

After the Battle
Following the defeat of R.T Katagiri, Project D is given time off before their next competition against Team Spiral, consisting of the battle against Keisuke and Ryuji Ikeda followed by Takumi and Hiroya Okuyama.

Fifth Stage

 * Rockin' Hardcore - Fastway
 * Crazy On Emotion - Ace

Arcade Stage 8 Infinity

 * Adrenaline - Ace

Battle Stage 3

 * Victim Of You - Mickey B.
 * Smoke On The Fire - P. Stone

Arcade Stage 8 RivalSide Info
Story arc: R.T. Katagiri S.V.

Driver: Hideo Minagawa

Car: Toyota Supra RZ (JZA80)

Opponent: Keisuke Takahashi

Team: Project D

Car: Mazda RX-7 Type R (FD3S)

Mission: Preserve the Steering Gauge

Course: Nagao

Rule: Uphill

Start: Standing

Weather: Clear

Time of day: Night