Junichi Sakamoto

Junichi Sakamoto (坂本 順一 Sakamoto Jun'ichi) is the number 2 driver of Team Spiral. It is not known what car he drives. He is considered to be a close friend of the team leader Ryuji Ikeda as he is often seen with him, and also a follower of his 'Zero Theory'.

History
Junichi Sakamoto is first seen at the Nanamagari course where Project D meets up with Team Spiral for their upcoming battle. After meeting them, Ikeda asks Sakamoto on what his opinions on Project D were, to which he replies that they have a strong presence thanks to their continuous winning streak, and yet they remain unarrogant. Ikeda agrees with him and says that the battle with them will provide the best platform to test his Zero Theory, and so he is off to his car to clear off his mind.

Later on just before his battle with Keisuke Takahashi on the uphill, Sakamoto knocks his car while Ikeda was meditating inside. Sakamoto asks Ikeda on what exactly does he think when he zones out in his meditation, to which he replies that he actually thinks of nothing. The very point of zero theory is to not let any emotions interfere, so that he can communicate with his car during the battle without any interruptions, leading to the downfall. He also mentions that because of this, he didn't come up with any strategy for his battle. During the battle, Sakamoto thinks about the how their team modifies vehicles only according to what they need, and which fits to their driving style requirements, rather than to just spend all money on every expensive parts. He also talks about the Zero theory, on how it actually improved the driving performance of the youngsters in the team and he says Ikeda is the only member of the team to achieve the 'drover and car as one' personality from the theory.

Afterwards when he heard from his teammates about the sudden appearance of the "White Devil of Hakone", the fog which appears at Hakone, he got worried about Ikeda and realized if this was a race taking place at the Fuji Speedway, the race would have been cancelled, but since this is a street race, he couldn't do anything and hope Ikeda makes it safely. After Ikeda loses the battle when Keisuke overtakes him inz a heavy fog section, Sakamoto protests against the results of this battle and states that there should be a rematch with clear weather conditions. However Ikeda states that even if the weather were clear, the outcome wouldn't have been much different. Plus since this battle was in a public road, weather conditions are no excuses. Ikeda also confesses that his Zero theory needs some refinement and work to be done as he realized in the battle. After Hiroya Okuyama loses his battle against Takumi Fujiwara in the downhill, Ikeda says to Sakamoto that he knew Okuyama would returns safely in the fog as he is the number one driver of the team. Yet he left him to the battle without any advice purposefully so that Okuyama would gain an experience he wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Later on, Sakamoto was stationed near the course at Hakone Turnpike where the Shinigami was chasing another car. He calls Ikeda in his phone to inform him about Shinigami passing his location soon so that he can intervene in between at the right time. He also warns Ikeda to be careful before his call gets hanged up.

Exclusively in Final Stage, him along with Ikeda and other teams Project D faced congratulates Takumi after winning his final battle against Shinji Inui of Sidewinder.

Trivia

 * He shares his name with Sakamoto, a member of the Northern Saitama Alliance.