As the race between Project D and the wildcard Toudou School looms in the near future, each team meticulously prepares for battle. Vehicles are tuned to precision and strategies are carefully considered. When the day finally arrives the first match is between Tak and Toudou's Daiki Ninomiya. The battle is on!
Shuichi Shigeno (Japanese author profile: しげの秀一) is a manga artist, best known for the manga series Initial D. Shigeno has also created Bari Bari Densetsu, Dopkan, and Tunnel Nuketara Sky Blue ("First Love in Summer") all prior to the manga that would make him famous in 1995. In 1985, he received the Kodansha Manga Award in shōnen for Bari Bari Densetsu.
I noticed this in the previous volume but it is really pronounced here. I feel that this is about the time when Shigeno was allowed to write for as long as he wanted. It is most notable because the battles are way longer than they used to be. Where a battle in the beginning took 3-8 chapters, this one took the entire volume of 15 chapters, and still isn't finished.