MF GHOST (MFゴースト)

Ashinoko skyline

The Eight-six has arrived at the gate.

Fifteen seconds until he begins.

And up goes the board.

Ten seconds and counting.

Five. Four.

Three. Two.

One.

- -

He shoots out of the gate like a rocket!

Kanata Katagiri begins his Ashinoko GT run!

Aren't you gonna watch, Mom?

I'm afraid I'll have to pass.

I'd love to, but seeing Kana-chan race

doesn't do my heart any favors.

I'm sure this isn't going to change your mind, honey,

but it's not nearly as dangerous as you think.

Especially when you have somebody as talented

as Mister Kanata behind the wheel.

Gimme a break.

Why do you keep making it sound

as if he's some kind of celebrity?

Hm?

You're the only person in this house

who's so formal with him.

Right? Tell your father to please cut it out.

Don't you two gang up on me.

The truth is, I'm a huge gearhead

and motor racing fan.

How can I not have a deep respect for him?

Addressing him casually just seems so insulting.

We're here at Ashinoko,

said to be the toughest course in MFG,

yet Kanata Katagiri's unleashing

all of his technical prowess!

The white reaper descends.

Won't be much longer now.

Little by little, the scenery's starts

turning completely white.

Covered in volcanic ash from Mount Fuji,

carried over by the wind.

For some reason, it clings to that area.

The particles get between the road and your tires,

making it really easy to slip.

In fact,

It's like a "white reaper" descending on you.

This part is called the Slip Trap.

No matter how much they try cleaning it up,

it always seems to accumulate.

It's one of MFG's seven wonders.

Booth to Kanata.

You're entering the death zone.

You'll need to ease up. Over.

Roger.

I can feel my "Mu" dropping on the road.

I'll adjust my driving style. Over.

What's he mean by that?

What just happened?

That wasn't natural slippage.

He swung the back end while turning on purpose.

What the...

Hey, Ogata.

What is up with the Eight-Six's traction control?

Are you sure it's even working properly?

That's the thing.

Kanata was the one who told me to switch it off!

You can't be serious.

He's drifting like that 'cause he wants to?

He's intent on pulling off these rally moves

in the middle of the death zone?

Whoa! Would you look at that?

Eight-Six lost the attention flag entering the death zone,

but he's got it back on him now!

He earned an attention flag by drifting?

I've been doing this for three years

and never managed to do that.

His drifting might be breathtaking,

but even more so,

I can't remember anyone ever getting an attention flag

inside Ashinoko's death zone!

Regardless, the computer at MFG HQ

has just given him the seal of approval!

He shifts his weight and swings the rear side out,

composing any line he wants using minimum steering angle.

That's Takumi Fujiwara's zero-counter steer drift,

no question.

It's like Project D's invincible downhill racer

has come to Lake Ashinoko.

So, he enters the corner with enough yaw

to suppress any unaccounted understeer.

And if you're a hundred percent sure

you're not going to oversteer,

you can take a pretty aggressive line.

Speed wise, it can't actually be faster for him.

No. Look again! It's working!

For the second race in a row,

he's making huge gains in the death zone!

He's working his way up to tenth place!

Kanata Katagiri won't be messed with!

The White Reaper is the bane

of every MFG driver's existence!

But for some reason, don't ask me why,

the specter instead is smiling down

angelically on this young racer!

My grip is normalizing.

I'm almost out of the death zone.

Eight-Six is finally exiting the Slip Trap!

Its tires are regaining their grip,

and reaching their speed rating once again.

Now he's entering the downhill section

from Kojiri Pass junction to the floodgates.

And the vehicle is zipping along

like a fish through water!

Single digits, are you kidding?

Am I gonna get beaten by Kanata

in his second freakin' race?

Eight-Six has gone from sixteenth

in the opener to a qualifying spot!

This rookie's seriously in ninth place?

For him to be performing at this level against

the best racers in the Godly Fifteen,

it just doesn't make any sense.

He rounds the Port Kojiri hairpin

without letting go of ninth place!

I can't believe this, viewers!

No matter how much they've overhauled the Eight-Six,

it's still only a two-liter NA engine.

How's this pace even possible?

Hey, Dad, you know

what a "two-liter NA is," right?

-Tell me. -Sure, hon.

How should I word this?

It's an engine that produces 2,000 CCs of displacement.

And NA stands for "Naturally Aspirated".

Basically, what it means

is he doesn't have a turbocharger.

What difference does a "turbo" make?

If your vehicle's equipped with one,

then it will give you about two to three times

the amount of displacement force.

So then, in other words, Kanata's car

is way underpowered compared to the others?

Well, you could certainly say that.

If that's true, how come he's so high up

on the leaderboard?

Is the guy some kind of magical wizard or something?

Hm?

Hm.

That's actually not a bad way of putting it.

Eight-Six has a good rhythm as it cuts

through the woods on Ashinoko's eastern coast.

This section piles on the lateral Gs

in both directions.

Precision pedal work is the key

to getting through here.

And he's keeping his position.

But can he hold onto the edge

he gained in the death zone

with such an underpowered vehicle?

Kanata Katagiri's cornering sorcery continues!

He's still not pulling out all the stops yet.

Every MFG course is incredibly distinct,

with each of them placing different demands

on the suspension.

I used all the knowledge I've built up

over my career to fine-tune the Eight-Six's underbody.

Hell, you could practically call it an Ashinoko Custom.

This is our opportunity to shake things up

and remind people MFG was built on the bones

of the old Gunma street scene.

As an old Kanagawa racer, what more could I ask for?

When it comes to Kanata's driving traits,

he corners in a way that draws out

the lateral Gs for as long as possible.

It's nothing like the V-shaped lines

the rest of us use.

He relies on his tires in a completely different way.

And after the changes to the Eight-Six,

its suspension perfectly fits his style.

Customized by the suspension wizard himself,

Hiroya Okuyama.

Still, how can it produce results this insane?

Eight-Six leaves Sector Two

and enters Sector Three.

It's all downhill from here to the lakeside!