Well that’s humbling. It almost looks fake how much he’s able to extract so much load out of the darn kart. This is gorgeous driving.
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One of Ryan’s strongest assets is how good he is on the brake…look at the video carefully…its like he has a hook and is literally reeling in the karts in front under braking
Yup. His braking is phenomenal. His not braking is similar. This guy lives in the slip angle. It seems like he is always right on the edge of what the chassis and tires can give.
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Is there anything particular you note about his braking technique we should aspire to? Just curious as it’s something I really need to improve on
Tell you what I notice, he’s not or at least very rarely locking the rears under braking. That’s what we should be aspiring to, braking at the grip threshold but not beyond it. I find it incredibly difficult to master especially when grip levels are changing throughout race day (rubbering in, track temperature etc)
On thé occasions I’ve got it right, it shows in my lap time significantly. Work to do.
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Is it just me or does he overlap his initial braking input with the throttle ever so slightly to achieve that? He seems to make an effort to control how he releases the throttle going into big braking zones, rather than abruptly lift
Hard to tell, that’s called power braking right? - whilst it’s a very fast technique it’s also very hard on your engine.
Ryan did a video explaining his braking techinque last year, pretty sure this is the one
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Excellent thanks so much for posting that, it’s my biggest area I know I need to and can improve on 
I’m not seeing the “power” braking. I don’t see overlap of throttle and brake. He’s handling the balance of the kart via throttle so it looks like it but he’s not on both at same time. His throttle manipulation is constant and I suspect he’s adjusting throttle input to match the existing grip level. Braking becomes very brief and surgical as much of the momentum adjustments are done via decrease in throttle as opposed to zero throttle. He’s in throttle early (he basically never left). He sneaks in the braking around the throttle.
Reminds me of kart kraft, actually. Wish I could do this irl too! Someday.
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No I don’t see it either. Actually last night I binge watched all his YT vids 
Now I wanna hit the track to try stuff, dropped him a thank you message on insta, respect 
for him replying.
Particularly found the braking and getting under the rubber interesting.
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You should spend some time studying with TJ or Warren.
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Cool to see other drivers are also catching on to the “under the rubber” philosophy we stumbled upon years ago.
Most top-tier drivers drive that way, but not many can articulate it. Ryan does it well.
Those two were great. I sent my dad links to those a few months ago when I came across them. I thought they would apply to auto racing as well as karting. He agreed!
Yes I want to, I need to get some footage first from the front fairing so TJ can see what my feet are doing. Then I’ll send him a love letter 
The sound. When I watch videos of top drivers like Tj and Ryan, I always notice how you can almost feel it when they brake hard. Anyways, it sounds like braking should, IMO.
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The top drivers are getting to that 99.9% brake pressure (just before complete lock-up) extremely quickly and efficiently, and then dialing it back as they approach turn-in.
One thing I always notice with a top-tier driver and their braking is their ability to know that limit and play with the kart’s posture above and below that limit. In a hard braking situation or an overtake situation, a great driver will get to the braking limit super efficiently and then be able to dance the kart around that limit, all while being in full control. If you watch a driver like this go into a hard braking zone and reach lock-up, you’ll see their entire body instinctually ‘fix’ the kart’s attitude before it can even get out of shape. The sound of the rear tires starting to chirp, the feeling of the rear stepping out, the sound of the engine revs diving, all combine to give that driver signals to make the correction instantly and effortlessly. Its muscle memory at that point.
The best drivers are completely comfortable at or above the limit and of the kart and they know exactly where that limit is and how to extract it in every scenario. Man and machine becoming one.
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From what I recall, @Terence_Dove has some great content out there on braking. As well as a rather good book.
^If you buy anything from amazon via that link, KP get’s a little $ 
^^ Store is stll not complete, please excuse the mess.
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Indeed! And, even better, his braking bit is offered for free! However, you’ll probably end up buying the book. He’s basically dealing in addictive drugs in kart form. I found his book hooked me quick. It’s not a giant read, either.
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That’s a better way of describing what I meant by he’s braking around the throttle.
This is insightful. I know this to be the case from sim. This is somewhat what I meant when I describe him as using throttle modulation as a part of the deceleration process. You can’t really see this easily because it’s quick.
Think of it this way. If you commit to hard braking, you can choose where you do that, correct? You can threshold brake a bit earlier so that you can spend less time off throttle, by getting back to the beginning of being in power, earlier. It’s controlled. You aren’t trying to simply be the last of the late breakers, you want to be the first to throttle.You are still removing tons of speed, but balanced with shorter, firmer braking. Never late, never behind the kart.
Throttle modulation allows you to play with the limit while keeping energy running through the kart. It feels more solid, more tight to the line.
What I notice when seeing video of an exceptional driver is a sense of being absolutely in the sweet spot without any sweat. There’s a poised quality to the best drivers that’s visibly powerful but obviously efficient and controlled. There is no drama, no theatrics. Just really obvious comfort and mastery. They own their driving, fully.
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