backpeddling a bit... even IF theres an extra two eps 17 and 18, is that enough time to bring about some sort of closure to the series? even if theres going to be a 5th and or 6th stage, the end of this series would still require a bit of closure. of course, if 17 + 18 aren't focussed solely on racing and focus more on whatever conclusions are being drawn to (e.g. takumi's decreased respect for the 86 after the whole imprezza thing) then perhaps this might happen.
then again, 4th stage's story line hasn't been all that strong, seeing as its mostly concentrated on the racing aspect, with the plot comming from either the on going background story of keisuke and takumi's rivalry, and the 'side stories' of the teams they race against.