May had just arrived on the top of Mount Haruna and when she arrived the crowd went wild. Everybody had been waiting for her to appear so she could race Takeshi Nakazato.

After getting out of her car, she stared at Takeshi with everyone in attendance looking at them.

Takeshi said to himself "Jeez, she's young! Bet she hasn't ever had her license for more than a year! Where could a kid like this learn her technique? I thought for sure I'd be racing someone older than me!"

May then looked at Takeshi's R32 and said to herself "So that's an R32."

Yuichi then said in May's head "It's beyond amazing. That car's in a class by itself. Its driving system combines everything good about FR and 4WD."

Takeshi then said "I am Nakazato, one of the Myogi Night Kids. What's your name?" & May said "My name is May Chan."

Takeshi said "I will remember that. What do you say we get started?"

Meanwhile some spectators were talking about the race. Many said that Takeshi would win.

Yuichi was still talking with Ash on the phone. He said "Now you tell me that heavy understeer during full throttle is the better setting if you have the skills, but if maneuverability is suddenly different, don't you think May's going to panic when she charges into the corners? Maybe you should have warned her."

Ash then said "It wouldn't have done any good. She's not exactly a driver who drives with her head."

Yuichi then said "WHAT? Then all the more reason to tell her!" & Ash said "It's all right. You don't have to worry. See, she might not be too sharp upstairs, but her body and senses are finely tuned. It's too late to think first and react to the information you yell on your back through the seat. Your arms and legs have to move unconsciously to control drifting. That's why you don't need to worry! She has the great sense of knowing when and how to accelerate while the car is drifting. So even if the suspension setting is a little different, it won't matter to her in the least. She'll make minor adjustments and just ride it out. The R34 is a car that trains its driver."

Meanwhile, May got in her car and strapped herself in. Then Takeshi pulled up next to her.

People were at the finish to keep an eye for traffic. One person said that it was all clear and that the race could start at anytime.

Kenji then said "Max! We can go anytime!" Max then said "All right! I'm going to start the countdown! We're starting in ten seconds." May and Takeshi then revved their Nissan Skyline GT-Rs. Akito said "We're all counting on you, May!"

Meanwhile Ryousuke was about to get in his FC when he said "Keisuke, we're going to have the best seats in the house for tonight's race! Now hop in! They're about to start!" Max was in the middle of the countdown. He said "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!"

Both May and Takeshi drove off to start. They were even at the start but Takeshi started to pull ahead. Akito then said "The R32 is ahead" & Max said "Yeah, but May's not too far behind!"

Ryousuke was in his car when he saw May and Takeshi drive by. He told Keisuke to fasten his seat belt. Then Ryousuke drove off to follow May and Takeshi.

A couple spectators were watching. One said "That's the FC. Ryousuke Takahashi just dashed out!" & another spectator said "Is he trying to horn in on the race?"

Another spectator said "WHAT THE HECK? Is it going to be a three-way super battle?"

Another person said "Suddenly, it's turned into a race for the fastest in Gunma!"

May was going full throttle to try to pass Takeshi's R32. She was noticing something with Takeshi. She said "The R32 driver. He's slowing down. Is he waiting for me?"

Takeshi then said "It would be a waste to lose her on the straightaway. I want to have a battle here! The real starting line comes as soon as we hit the first corner!"

Takeshi started to pick up the speed a bit while May pulled alongside him.

Keisuke then told Ryousuke "Hey look at that! Nakazato's easing up on the gas and waiting for the R34!" & Ryousuke said "Hope his overconfidence doesn't end up costing him in the last half of the race!"

A guy at the first corner was waiting for both cars. When he saw them coming, he noticed all the cars were in a row.

Takeshi braked for the corner with May and Ryousuke followed him.

Yuichi then said "WOW! It's just like Ash said!"

Takeshi then noticed May's R34 drifting and he said "WHAT THE HELL? No way, miss! Pulling stunts like that's not going to get you caught up to me!"

Takeshi then pulled away a bit but May was in hot pursuit. May then braked for the next corner drifting while keeping her car only a few millimeters off the guardrail. Both May and Ryousuke were trying to catch up with Takeshi.

Ryousuke said "Getting to eyeball it from this close up, that drift looks like a work of art! A four-wheel drift in full throttle, and she's barely applying the countersteer! Do you realize how incredible that is? She's pushing that R34 to its outer limits and controlling it like it was her own hands and feet! Even I can't control the FC like that! It's exciting!"

Keisuke then said "Yeah, maybe, but little by little, Nakazato is gaining ground! Can the R34 win this one?"

Takeshi then started to put a little distance on May. He said "YES! THIS IS IT! It's like I can feel the blood rushing through my veins! This is the battle I've been waiting for! Ready, girl? I'm really going to cut loose now! Let's see how far you can keep up!"

Takeshi and May were speeding through the corners. May then picked up the pace by applying the gas a little more.

She said to herself "Something's different. Something's different with the car! Even if I floor it, the car doesn't lose control. Does this mean I can step on the gas sooner than before? When I was at work today, did Ash fiddle with it? Because it sure wasn't like this when I drove it this morning! Now I get it! That's why he was out before! He was working on this! Don't know why, but anyway, it does feel a whole lot better this way! Because it doesn't slide too much, I can push is all the way!"

May started to become faster and was drifting through the corners with ease. People were watching and couldn't believe how good May was drifting.

Ryousuke then said "That's the first time I've seen somebody drift all the way through that corner!" & Keisuke said "Yeah, she's nuts! She would never be able to do it if she didn't have total mastery over her speed!"

People at the corner where May had just passed were in shock to see her drifting and how it gave them goose bumps.

Both May and Takeshi were driving with everything they had.

At the top of the mountain, someone told Kenji that May was on the tail of Takeshi's R32.

Kenji said "She's doing it! Looks like May is sticking right behind the R32!"

Akito said "Amazing! I mean, Nakazato is an ace, but line him up with Ryousuke Takahashi, another superstar, and you got a battle royal brewing already! And May's racing against both of them? UNBELIEVABLE! I mean, that's too cool!"

Max then said "Well, yeah, but Ryousuke Takahashi and his FC aren't even in the race. He's acting more like a third-person witness."

Kenji then said "Right. May's up against Nakazato here." & Max said "His R32 has the R34 at a disadvantage, but with May at the wheel, the R34 will pull through in the end!" & Kenji said "OH YEAH! May will take it, for sure!" Akito agreed with Kenji and Max.

Meanwhile, Takeshi noticed May was starting to pull away a bid. Both he and May were racing hard.

Keisuke then said "He's creeping further and further away!" & Ryousuke said "Nakazato has got a big mouth, but it looks like he's got the skill to back it up! Look at how he distributes the load, subduing the understeer while driving! He really knows how to draw out the R32's power. Not pretty to look at, but this isn't the time to take it easy."

Keisuke then said "Hey brother, who are rooting for? If the kid loses this one, it's all over!"

Ryousuke then said "The real contest is only about to begin. The first half has comparatively more long straightaways plus there are lots of gentle slopes, too. There are lots of disadvantages for the R34, but the inclines are going to start getting rougher right around here. It's perfect for a downhill specialist to strut their stuff!"

Takeshi then said "ALL RIGHT! This kind of low-gear hairpin curve is right up the R32's alley! All I got to do is cut my speed by slamming on the brakes. Going downhill, like it or not, the front wheels still have to bear the load, so its weakest point, the pushing understeer, hardly occurs. Furthermore, accelerating from a low gear is what this car does better than any other! The fastest machine on the racing circuit is the toughest machine even on open roads! The R emblem on the rear is the legendary symbol for invincibility! Can you get close enough to read it?"

Meanwhile at the top of the mountain Kenji said to Max "I have been thinking. Until now, I though May was just a unique racer who's only fast when racing on Haruna. What if she raced on a different mountain pass? How well would she drive?"

Max said "Well, sure, I've mulled it over. But right now, all I'm thinking about is the battle at hand! WIN, SIS!"

Back to the battle, May was driving with all her might. Ryousuke was following right behind her.

Keisuke said to himself "OH, MAN! My eyes can't keep up with her! Looks like she's finally kicking out the jams! Her inside tires are gripping the rim of the road! This is the one! The trick that I lost to! I Never thought I'd ever get the chance to see it again!" Keisuke then said "Ryousuke has stopped with the chatter. Does that mean there's no time for that now? I've ridden shotgun with him tons of times, but this is the first time I've seen him driving like this! I've never seen him so serious!"

Approaching the skating rink, Takeshi noticed May was getting closer. He couldn't believe she was catching up to him. May then drifted at the next corner.

Takeshi then said "BRILLIANT! Catching up to me after all that, all my prejudice about the R34 has just been blown away! It's a first-rate fighting machine! The R33 was not as good as the R32 but the R34 has taken the GT-R to a whole new level. Okay, the kid gloves are off! Man, this is the best rush I've had in ages! In fact, this has got to the hottest road race I've been in since getting this car."

Takeshi then blazed through an S-curve with May not far behind. At the next corner, May pulled off a great drift to catch up to Takeshi.

Keisuke then said to himself "When it comes to hairpin turns, she can't match the R32! No matter how close the R34 sticks to the R32, the distance always widens after a hairpin! Man, Nakazato has got guts, too. Attacking the road like that, downhill in a heavy-ass R32! May's R34 is lighter in weight and more agile in the corners. Someone told me that her R34 is not 4WD like a regular R34 but rather it's FR."

Meanwhile, May started to close the gap a little bit. Approaching the next corner, May drifted perfectly and started to drive up to Takeshi's rear bumper.

Keisuke then said to himself "The R34 closed the gap at the high-speed corner? Going over 100 KPH while doing a four-wheel drift close enough to graze the guardrail? I don't think any of it has to do with the car's capabilities! That girl has got a screw loose! If she makes one slip-up, she's road kill for sure! But now I understand her secret. With a lightweight car like her R34, if she loses speed once, it takes like forever to get it back up again. She never lets herself lose a fraction of speed more than she has to! Now I finally get why, when I raced against her, she could always catch up to me, no matter how many times I lost her!"

Takeshi then said "CRAP! I can't shake her off my rear bumper! It's the opposite. She's hanging on to me for longer and longer periods! The kid's really tough!" May then drifted into the next corner and was able to maintain the gap.

Keisuke then said to himself "Nakazato is clearing the guardrail by a good 20-30 centimeters. No matter how fast you are, that's about right. Yet the R34's bumper is almost close enough to the rail to make sparks! That girl's in a league of her own! HOW? How can she control a drift with that kind of precision?"

Takeshi then noticed something strange with his R32. He said to himself "Since I've been steering hard and using the ABS, the load on the front tires has been a lot heavier than I thought! This race is suddenly getting much more challenging!"

Both May and Takeshi were blazing through the corners.

Then Ryousuke said to Keisuke "The five hairpins are coming up. That's where she left you in the dust. And I bet that's going to be a key point this time as well." & Keisuke said "An R32 versus an R34. I knew this battle would be fierce but I didn't expect it to be this fierce. Both cars are being taken to their limits. But which one of them is going to win this race?"

Meanwhile at the top of the mountain, someone told Kenji that he could hear the cars coming at the hairpins.

Max said in his head "This is where the race will be won or lost. If May drives perfectly through there, she'll win. If she makes a mistake, then it's all over."