Tak may be in over his head against Shingo in a downhill with his hand fastened to the steering wheel, especially considering that this kind of race favors an FF like Shingo's Civic against an FR like Tak's Eight Six. Tak's life is changing in so many other ways, too. Bunta waxes emotional about his Zen-like training of the increasingly popular Akina downhill specialist, expressing for the first time the importance of Tak's racing reputation to his own ego, and Natalie advances ever-closer to the edge of a romantic relationship with Tak. And, in a related development, how will the racing scene in Gunma change if Ry actually does get an offer to race professionally in Tokyo?