Wastegate

West Gate (ウエストゲート, Uesuto Gēto, "Wastegate") is an extra chapter of Initial D. The chapter follows Keisuke Takahashi picking up a girl during a practice run on Akagi.

Plot
At 3AM on Mt. Akagi, Keisuke Takahashi practices for his upcoming battles with Project D. On the way up he finds a girl in the middle of the road, attempting to hail a car. She tells him that she was left there, and asks for a lift to a gas station. He dismisses her, telling her that he's going up the mountain, not down, before attempting to drive on. She begs him to give her a ride, and he begrudgingly accepts, but restates that he's not going where she wants him to. She asks Keisuke if he's in a gang, as she'd heard a lot of people street race up on the mountains. He responds by telling her to be quiet, before picking up some speed. The girl is shocked but reacts as though she was on a rollercoaster.

At the top of Akagi, Keisuke calls Kenta Nakamura to see if he can pick the girl up, but Kenta tells him that he has the flu. At the same time, the girl is checking Keisuke out, and thinks that he's attractive. She gets out of Keisuke's FD. The Altezza Guys show up, looking for the girl, and tell her to get back into their car. Keisuke asks the two of them if they know the girl, but the two of them realise who he is and run off without giving an answer. Keisuke gives chase, and the girl continues to swoon over him. Keisuke gains on the two men in the Altezza, who are panicking. The Altezza leaves the road, landing on the tops of some trees. Keisuke passes by but doesn't see them, thinking that he got outran by them.

Keisuke drops the girl off at a station, and she attempts to give him her number, but he declines and drives off.

Japan

 * January 10th 2001 (Young Magazine GT)
 * November 29th 2004 (Tankōbon, Volume 30)

Chinese

 * December 2004 (Tankōbon, Volume 30, Jade Dynasty)
 * January 4th 2005 (Tankōbon, Volume 30, Sharp Point Press)

English

 * May 6th 2008 (Tankōbon, Volume 30, Tokyopop)
 * April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 30, Kodansha USA)

French

 * May 20th 2015 (Tankōbon, Volume 30, Kazé)

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Keisuke Takahashi
 * Unnamed Girl
 * Kenta Nakamura
 * The Altezza Guys

Cars (in order of appearance)

 * Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
 * Toyota Altezza RS200 (SXE10)

Tokyopop/Kodansha USA version

 * English title is mistranslated. ウエストゲート can be translated to mean both Westgate and Wastegate, however this chapter is named after the Wastegate, a valve that is part of a turbocharged engine.
 * English release mistranslates Akagi (赤城山) to Akina.
 * Removes or translates several sound effects
 * Pages are cropped differently, cutting off part of the artwork

Kazé version

 * Translates all sound effects into French
 * Pages are cropped differently, cutting off part of the artwork

Notes & Trivia

 * The chapters title is taken from the Wastegate, a valve that controls the flow of exhaust gases to the turbine in a turbocharged engine.
 * This chapter marks the first appearance of The Altezza Guys, who would later appear in Initial D Extra Stage 2.
 * This chapter is most likely set around the time of the battles with the Northern Saitama Alliance, based both on year of release (2001) and Keisuke still having his Mazdaspeed bodykit.