MF GHOST (MFゴースト)

It's the 86!

The king, Beckenbauer, has just been usurped by a rookie!

Kanata's in front of Michael now? No way. What the heck?

How'd he get one over on that freak, Michael?

Regain your composure.

Take deep breaths to steady your pulse.

Humans need to be relaxed to perform at close to 100% of their ability.

This is just an additional objective. The end result won't change.

There's half the course to go on this final lap,

and the battle for first between the tricolor trio continues!

MF Ghost

Here's Aoi corner...

m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100

Their First Kiss

and out they come!

These three cars are all powerful, but will the 12 outdo the rest uphill?

I dunno what happened, but this is a big chance for me.

Good job, Kanata Rivington.

As long as you're in between us, I'm safe from Michael's attacks.

The 12 is pulling up alongside!

The two cars exit the corner together!

Hang in there, Kanata.

Two cars running parallel out of a corner slows both down.

That'll give me a chance to pull clear!

The 86 isn't giving this up without a fight!

They take the next corner side by side!

Neither is backing down!

Somehow, they enter a third corner still locked together!

And they both emerge...

still in parallel!

Now for the tight uphill section leading to the Unbalanced corner.

The brute strength of the 12 allows it to gradually nose ahead.

The 12 car now has the 86's front pinned down!

They swap positions again!

Time and again, we've seen Katagiri Kanata come out ahead in these situations,

but he's now up against the points leader, and Michael Beckenbauer is built different.

It's definitely the tires.

No second gear in the first half forced him to use up his fronts.

In particular, he's paying the price for pushing his lateral grip to the limit.

He'll have to switch to holding on to his current position now.

He's lost the weaponry he needs to duke it out with the leaders.

The one who benefited most from that intense dogfight

between the 86 and the 12 was the 4 car!

He's now a good 20 meters ahead of them.

He saw his chance and seized it.

Sawatari Koki's first win of the season may well be within his grasp!

You won't get away, Sawatari.

I tend not to push this hard,

but I'll show you what happens when I sprint for real.

Don't go so hard, Shun!

This isn't the best place to lean on the tires.

You need to work on locking in and save the big attack for the back straight!

Copy.

It's only gradual, but doesn't it seem like the 4 car is catching the 12?

And we're seeing the gap between the 86 and the 12 grow.

Katagiri Kanata appears to be struggling!

I can only think his tire wear is starting to hold him back.

I've still got grip on my rears,

but any lateral movement is gonna be rough on my front tires.

I won't give up until the very end,

but I know full well the pair in front of me...

won't leave me any openings.

Oh, my! The 12 car receives the attention flag!

Can you believe it, Akiyama-san? At a time like this, on the final lap?

You can almost feel the confidence fueling his choices.

And while I may not personally favor his conservative racing style...

...it's hard to argue with the results!

It looks like he's truly on another level!

He's gaining on me by the second,

even though I've been in qualifying mode to try to escape.

You're fast, Michael.

So damn fast, it gives me chills!

This is what I need to work on.

When I'm fully focused and going top speed, my breathing becomes erratic,

and my pulse gradually increases.

I'm still not on the level of the world's greatest drivers.

Here he comes. The gap between the pair is shrinking!

They enter the second hairpin turn!

And he's right with him!

The absolute king is back in contention!

On this back straight,

the 12 pulls into the 4's slipstream!

This may be the moment of truth!

I can't shake this bad feeling.

All I can do now is redline it and put total faith in my car.

I'm counting on you. Hang in there, A110!

The 86 seems unable to pick up the slipstream!

It's fair to say he's no longer in contention for the win at this point!

But who will win? When will the 12 car strike?

The 4 and the 12 head for City Hall corner at full throttle!

They're picking up speed!

I won't let you near the inside.

If you slip in there, I'm basically done for!

En garde, Sawatari.

City Hall corner will decide it!

And they slam on the brakes!

Around the outside?

Screw you, Michael. That's one option I'm gonna take away from you!

They're neck and neck as they emerge from City Hall corner!

It's a battle of wills and a battle of pride, and sparks are flying!

A high-speed cliffside turn...

then they dive into the tunnel!

The gap to the leading pair has suddenly shrunk.

I see. Driving side by side limits their lines, and their speed drops.

I'm not sure how this is gonna end now, Ogata-kun.

It has taken an interesting turn.

What do you mean?

We might just see a silver lining peeking out from the clouds.

Aw, crap.

The reason Michael took the outside line when it's so much tighter...

is because of this!

I've got no space.

And Kanata's right there,

making this the biggest blunder of my life.

And with the finish line in sight, the positions swap around again!

Beckenbauer takes the lead, Katagiri Kanata's in second,

and Sawatari Koki falls back to third!

A shocking turn of events. What a finale!

I don't think we've ever seen so many changes of position on a final lap before!

And now...

The checkered flag!

Points leader, Michael Beckenbauer, adds a third win to his current streak!

Next comes the rookie, Katagiri Kanata,

who grabs a second-place finish in just his third-ever race!

Kanata came second.

He did it!

He really did it! Kanata pulled it off!

Am I freakin' dreaming right now?

But talk about strong! The German cyborg warrior has proved his superior might!

The 4 and 86 fought ferociously,

but their ambitions were ultimately not enough.

I'm close enough to see the back of the 2 car.

But there's no sign of Katagiri Kanata.

Looks like I'm fifth in my first race. Not a bad result at all. And yet...

What is this? Why do I feel like such a pathetic loser?

Akaba in the 2 is fourth.

Moroboshi in the 885 rounds the final turn to finish fifth.

A little way behind him is Ishigami in the 1 car.

You're in his slipstream, Shun! Go for it!

You should have plenty of tire left!

Roger that!

More and more cars reach the line.

In seventh, it's Oishi in the 3.

In the 6 car, it's Yanagida.

Then Maezono in the 13.

And there seems to be some action behind them.

Look at this!

Two cars roar out of the tunnel next to each other!

It's Sakamoto in the 5, and Aiba in the 9.

They're side by side! And with these two, sparks are bound to fly!

Hell yeah! Get him, Aiba!

Don't chicken out! Floor it!

But I'm getting a feeling of déjà-vu from this scene.

The 9 on the right isn't on the racing line.

Idiot. Use your head a little.

Whoa! Two cars dive into a lane designed for just one!

And the first to cross the finish line is...

It's Aiba in the 9!

But he's been flagged.

That move is under review.

Akiyama-san, what's likely to happen with this?

I never imagined that could happen.

I doubt the governing committee envisioned it, either.