MFG (Organisation)

MFG is an organisation that was founded in order to preserve the use of internal combustion engine cars in the form of competitive racing. The races are held in Japan and the organiser and founder is Ryou Takahashi. The organisation has been around for 4 years by the start of the story. MFG was started as the next step in "Project D" and is Ryousuke Takahashi's answer to his theory on ultimate speed on public roads.

Rules
Qualifying for MFG is carried out in a time attack format, with single runs starting at one-minute intervals over seven days. To ensure fairness of driving conditions, qualifying is held only on sunny days and will be postponed in case of rain. All competitors are aiming to finish in the top 30, as this will earn them driver's points and many other benefits, such as large discounts on tires and other parts, and priority use of the second booth. The top 15 finishers will be eligible to participate in the finals. These finalists are referred to as "The Godly 15".

The finals are held in a race format, with the 15 cars that won the qualifying time attack coming together. Unlike the qualifying, the finals will be held even in case of rain. Competitors that make it to the podium of the finals earn a kiss on the cheek from one of the MFG Angels of their choice.

Each car's driving data is sent to the central computer at the MFG headquarters via a telemetering system, and cars whose drivers are judged by the AI to have superior skills are flagged for attention. Cars that are flagged are given priority in the main feed, but the criteria for this are strict. In particular, only two first-time entrants are flagged: Kanata Rivington, and Michael Beckenbauer. The drivers who compete in the qualifying round are a mixed bag, and some viewers look forward to the scenes of less-skilled drivers crashing expensive cars in a spectacular manner.

No road side galleries are permitted to reduce chance of spectator casualty. All footage is broadcast worldwide to the internet via drones that follow the cars around the courses. Test runs on the course during the race event are not allowed.

Schedule
There are a total of five races per year. There is a "summer break" in August between the third and fourth rounds. The annual awards ceremony and party will be held at the Imperial Hotel in late November.


 * 1) Round 1 - Late May
 * 2) Round 2 - Late June
 * 3) Round 3 - Late July
 * 4) Summer Break
 * 5) Round 4 - Late September
 * 6) Round 5 - October
 * 7) Awards Ceremony - Late November

Courses
In the time period of this work, the volcanic activity of Mt. Fuji has caused a major disaster, including the destruction of tourist spots and a massive power outage, and the MFG is an event to support the recovery. Therefore, each course was designed with sections that dared to retain the effects of this disaster in order to keep the memory of the disaster from fading away.


 * 1) Round 1 - Odawara Pikes Peak
 * 2) Round 2 - Lake Ashinoko GT
 * 3) Round 3 - The Peninsula "Manazuru"
 * 4) Round 4 - Seaside Double Lane
 * 5) Round 5 - Atami Ghost

MFG Drones
Drones are further used for racer safety. Drones alert competitors during their run if a car that is running faster is approaching by moving into the drivers view and flashing a yellow signal. If the course is obstructed due to an accident, the drone stops and issues a stop signal to the car following. The drone also sends an image of the driver involved in the crash to the center of operation in order to instruct a rescue team to be dispatched. Drones are high performance with fully autonomous functions and a max speed of 180 km/h (roughly 112 mph). Penalties are imposed for disobeying the drone's signals.

Grip to Weight Ratio
MFG's only regulation is the "Grip to Weight Ratio". This regulation requires heavier cars to have wider tires in order to ensure a fairer balance. Lighter cars are required to have thinner tires. A handicap for 4WD cars and midship cars is also in place. The unifying of grip to weight ratio causes the unification of cornering speed of the cars. Engine power, however, is unrestricted so it is up to the driver to find the best combination inside the regulations allowance. Hybrid cars are not allowed and must have their kinetic energy-recovery system removed to partake.

This regulation came to be known as the "Richman's Regulation" since racers concluded that, due to the equalised cornering speed of the cars and no restriction on engine power, cars with greater horsepower were better to use. This lead to racers who could afford top end European premium cars dominating the top positions.

However, due to this regulation favoring tire requirements that are more oriented towards endurance, it gives less powerful cars that are driven with better balance and tire management a chance to proceed where they otherwise wouldn't be able to.

Fixed car manufacturers
If a competitor wishes to switch cars, it must be within the same manufacturer as the car they started the season with, and they are not allowed to switch to a different manufacturer's car in the middle of the season.

Special Tires
All participating cars are required to use special tires manufactured by MFG sponsors, and any car found to be using tires other than those specified is immediately disqualified. Initially, only Bridgestone competition tires were supplied, but from the third round, Yokohama tires also joined the competition.

The Godly 15
The qualifiers of MFG Round 1 are the "Godly 15". These drivers earn reward money corresponding to their rank position and advance to the next round.

MFG Car Numbers
In the MFG, cars are numbered. The cars numbered up to 40 are based on the rankings from the previous year. Any number from 41 and above is up for grabs for anybody to apply for. The car numbers of the top 15 ranked cars are trimmed in gold to make them more appealing.

Trivia

 * MFG as an organisation is a direct successor to "Project D" in the Initial D series.
 * In the next year MFG is planning to expand their roster to 7 races with 20 participants, as well as increase the prize pool to 150 million yen for 1st place.