Ah, I read the first comment on the YT thread there and it led me astray. 
@Simone_Perego - I think youâre right and I believe your observations dovetail perfectly with TJâs reasons for needing to get on the throttle before apex. Or another way to say it, is that what TJ suggests (getting on the throttle earlier, before apex) would prevent me from overcharging the entry in the first place.
This is very timely, as above all other feedback received, itâs exactly these issues that Iâve focused on the most. Spending lots of time viewing various drivers and how they handle the timing of their braking/throttle phases at .25 speed for the past 72 hours. 
This is one of the best videos for watching someoneâs feet and where they are applying throttle:
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Hm, a little irony for me that it would be his video that you linked to for this - ideally he should get the information in his âHow to Apply the Throttle Correctlyâ video to match with what weâve repeatedly seen him actually do in his own driving. (in the video you just posted, can clearly see he gets back on the throttle before apex).
I guess, we can all take some comfort that even at his level, humans are not always accurately aware of every single thing, every single moment.
For sure, and to re-emphasize some of this will change depending on tire and engine and chassis and driving style overall blah blah etc. And I donât want anyone to think Ryan is misleading anyone or anything like that. Humans are unreliable narrators of their own actions sometimes and Ryan might be coaching a more general style of driving for the masses here rather than what he is able to do as somewhat of an alien in terms of talent.
For example, Ryanâs style is obviously that he carries a ton of speed to the apex, braking later than most, but heâs still very smooth and does a great job keeping the kart under the rubber. With that style, he can get creative on setup or gearing. If you want to drive in super deep and get to throttle a few feet later, it might behoove you to run more gear, so you can really roll that bottom line right on the curbing and still have grunt to accelerate on exit. That way you gain on entry from braking super late, but still are able to get off the corner on exit. Everyone is going to be hitting the limiter halfway down the straight in X30 anyway, so top end speed isnât going to be as big of a concern there.
Not sure if thatâs how they set his stuff up, but it was something I was thinking about last night.
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Checking back in a week later, to share and reflect how much my perceptions have changed even in the short time since posting and getting initial feedback. Which is to say, quite a bit.
Between regularly watching slow motion video of other drivers and being much more aware of various nuances that I wasnât aware of before, Iâm learning more than I imagined just from watching, and can now also very quickly and plainly (and somewhat painfully, haha) see things in my own footage that I couldnât before. Itâs like someone just switched on a light in a dark room, and I feel like not just my video-watching-IQ, but my overall driving IQ has taken a big leap forward. 
âŚnow if this darn rain would just go away so I could get back on the track!
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Oh what fun. To infinity and beyond, full send!
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I was just re-reading through the thread and your comments, and I realized that I noticed this while watching footage of him recently.
As you say, âton of speed to apex, braking laterâ, but I believe the other part that goes along with it is an initial turn in spot which is massively earlier than almost anyone he drives with (just to give some context). Still working out the physics of all it in my head a little bit, even after watching his video on the subject, but I think the actual plan is that to be pushing the front so hard that thereâs a slight, and within âacceptableâ slip angle amount, of understeer to the apex (which is how he doesnât drive off of the inside of the corner). You can barely tell except for a little saw of the wheel to give it more front bite sometimes, and the slight drift of the front (if you can even call it that) is over exactly at apex so you can barely tell what has even happened unless you start adding it all up (to a casual eye it looks like itâs all one seamless move/arc).
The other thing that is interesting is that he mixes and matches any number of techniques to different tracks or even different places on the track. Sometimes under the rubber, sometimes early throttle, sometimes both, sometimes neither!
Ryan mastered the âdriving under the rubberâ technique that I always preach too. He really loads the kart progressively and holds a tighter line than many. He keeps the kart in the rubber, turns in earlier than some but turns in slower, so he apexes at the same point as other drivers but he shortens up the entry phase of the corner.
This only works if you have a really tight feel on the tireâs limit and can be ultra smooth on your inputs to keep from upsetting the kart with that tighter radius into the corner.
And yes, in faster corners Ryan is quicker and more active with his inputs because he is a very complete driver who adjust and adapts on the fly depending on the corner.
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How about the geometry of the kart? For example OTK vs Birel. The former has more front vs rear grip to my understanding. Does this also affect driving technique?
For sure. The BestKart requires a bit different approach than the OTK did for me. Took some adapting.
And I drove a few Birels in the past couple years and they all felt MORE front biased than the OTK did. They seem really twitchy on the front end.
I talked about this a lot about ten years ago when I raced the ART kart after being on an OTK. The ART was very free on the exit of the corner but lazier on entry. The OTK was much more responsive at turn-in but could be difficult to maintain roll speed on exit if you werenât smooth enough. Both karts required a different driving technique mostly on corner entry but both were super fast.
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