Kyoichi Sudo

Kyoichi Sudo (須藤 京一 Sudō Kyōichi, also known as Kyle in the Tokyopop version) is the team leader and driving ace of the Lancer Evolution-only Emperor team from Gunma (according to his license plate, though it is changed to Tochigi in later series), and one of the best drivers in the series. He drives a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III powered up to 350 hp equipped with a WRC style misfiring system. In his philosophy, a car must have a high power turbo and all-wheel drive.

An old acquaintance of Ryosuke Takahashi of the Akagi RedSuns, Kyoichi is much like Ryosuke: he is a calm and composed driver, compared to his teammate Seiji Iwaki. Eager to show Ryosuke that he and his team are the best, Kyoichi and the Emperor team goes on to beat the various teams of Gunma, including the NightKids. He believes in the ultimate superiority of his race circuit techniques, whilst Ryosuke holds that street racing has its own special requirements. His home course is one-way, so he is unable to fully attack blind corners on two way roads, supporting Ryosuke's view. He is also often considered the first driver to have beaten Takumi Fujiwara, when Takumi blew out his engine at Akagi but said he didn't count it as a real race as he was demonstrating the difference in power before racing Ryosuke. But lost during a rematch at Irohazaka. It should be noted however, that the result should normally be considered a tie at best, and the race itself did not last more than one round. Kyoichi declared Takumi as the winner for merely being able to resist being overtaken at the last part of the course where other drivers fell prey to him. To Kyoichi, who takes pride in his ability to win, a tie at his home turf is equivalent to a loss.

He is also a graduate of the racing school, the Todo School, despite having no prior-hinted connections to the institute: his Evo III is a stark contrast to the FWD Hondas the students use, and Sudo uses no Spoon Sports parts on his vehicle.

He and the Two Guys From Tokyo might be the only ones in the series to feature a stock interior in their cars. The only modifications done to the car is the increment of Horsepower to 350 HP and a WRC Anti-Lag/Misfiring System to cure Turbo lag.

Seiji Iwaki
He is his best driver in his team as well as co-founder of Team Emperor. In his races, he instructs him to follow his instructions precisely, not to succumb to impatience and not to take their opponents lightly. A failure to obey these would result in a slap as he disobeyed Simulation 3 when he lost against Takumi in Akina.

Ryosuke Takahashi
Ryosuke is his biggest rival. During their first race in Akagi, he lost to him and argues about their different racing theories. He was told if his theory is superior then he can rematch him. This caused him to form Team Emperor and crushed every team in Gunma (except the SpeedStars whom Takumi raced in their place, Akagi RedSuns and Impact Blue) to prove their superiority. After conquering much of Gunma, he rematches him again the year after his first race with him. He lost the rematch due to being told his weakness is turning right due to fear of oncoming traffic in which proven that Ryosuke was right about circuit racing theories aren't enough for mountain racing as he is used to circuit racing which has no oncoming traffic and his home course Irohazaka is a one way road. Kyoichi then realises this and believes his delusions resulted to defeat. He ended his rivalry as he lets him spectate Takumi's battle with Kai Kogashiwa and both share their theories with how the race would result to.

Takumi Fujiwara
Although he looked down on his car, he nonetheless admired his driving skills and adaptability. He is the first one to ever defeat Takumi during his race in Akagi which resulted with blowing his engine. Although he didn't count it as a real race from the beginning, he lectured him to get a proper car to compete in a racing environment. However, he was defeated in a rematch as he failed to perform a counterattack on the last corner of the bridge on his home turf. He praised his new Eight-Six after his defeat. After Takumi's victory against Kai Kogashiwa, Kyoichi seen so much potential in him and states he can surpass his rival Ryosuke Takahashi.

Tomoyuki Tachi
Both him and Tomoyuki went to the same racing school in Todo Juku. He spectated his race against Project D with Seiji Iwaki at Happogahara.