Keisuke Takahashi vs Atsuro Kawai

The battle between Keisuke Takahashi vs Atsuro Kawai is the twenty-sixth battle of Initial D.

Prior to the Battle
After Takumi defeats Toru Suetsugu which ended nearly fatal for the latter, it was Keisuk e's turn to battle Atsuro Kawai. Atsuro tells Shinichi he is ging to show his full capabilities for the sake of his team. Meanwhile Keisuke notes that Atsuro Kawai's car was an GT-T instead of a GT-R, which Keisuke found to be better due to his bias against All Wheel Drive cars. After Atsuro and Keisuke greets each other and prepares for the race, Toru Suetsugu warns him about not leaving any gap at the inside lines of the corners with open gutters, as he was passed by his Project D opponent there. Atsuro was baffled on hearing his advice, but Toru strongly urges him follow as he says.

During the Battle
As the race began with Atsuro's GT-T on the lead and Keisuke's FD chasing, Toru hopes Atsuro can carry on with the race as long as possible, fully knowing that all the odds are against his team. Immediately on, Keisuke notes the GT-T has more power, but tells himself that he won't resort to extreme techniques like what Takumi pulled off earlier on, as he declares himself to be a Project D ace. Meanwhile Atsuro plans on utlizing his ER34's enormous power to pull away from Keisuke and to make use of all his skills. He states he doesn't resort to fancy maneuvers like drifting and instead relies on his car's horsepower to pull away. Keisuke then notices Atsuro cornering the insides of corners with open gutters, who tells that he won't be using Takumi's crazy techniques to overtake him. As the battle dragged on with Atsuro in lead, Keisuke soon realized his weakness: Atsuro's reliance on basic racing skills like wide cornering and going full throttle on straights. To Keisuke, Atsuro's driving style was too dull and boring. Meanwhile Ryosuke discusses with Fumihiro on how Keisuke actually studied a lot on Ryosuke's theories, making the ER34 stand no chance against Keisuke. Soon after a corner, Keisuke throttles next to Atsuro and passes him, leaving the latter dumbfounded as the FD races on to victory.

After the Battle
As Keisuke was about to leave, Atsuro Kawai asks him doubtfully whether if his car was actually faster than him at the straights. Keisuke tells him Atsuro's car is indeed more powerful, which Atsuro found hard to believe at first, but then Keisuke tells him that his speed in straights was affected by his previous cornering, and hence he needed to improve on gaining momentum while cornering. After this, Keisuke drives off, leaving Atsuro Kawai still doubtful, nevertheless inspired by him. Project D then sets the fastest time record on the course before leaving.

Trivia

 * This is one of the only battles which weren't shown fully in Fourth Stage. The other one was FD3S vs Integra DC2. This was likely done due to time constraints.

Battle Stage 2

 * Power - Go 2

Special Stage

 * I Need Your Love - Dave Simon

Arcade Stage 8 Infinity

 * The Race Of The Night - Dave Rodgers

Arcade Stage 8 RivalSide Info
Story arc: Seven Star Leaf

Driver: Atsuro Kawai

Car: Nissan Skyline 25GT-Turbo (ER34)

Opponent: Keisuke Takahashi

Team: Project D

Car: Mazda RX-7 Type R (FD3S)

Mission: Preserve the Steering Gauge

1-ryu Condition: Leave at least 1 Steering Gauge intact

Cho 1-ryu Condition: Leave at least 2 Steering Gauges intact

Course: Momiji Line

Rule: Uphill

Start: Standing

Weather: Clear

Time of day: Night