This is a true master class in driving. He's absolutely caning it and having a conversation at the same time.

Having a casual conversation while flying through a forest over a jump.

McCrea was simply amazing. Doing all that with left foot braking, talking all the while and even pausing to think about the reporters stupid questions. First Class.

Racing local Rallies, and certainly speedway I also just about always used left foot braking (depending on conditions, just as with Karting. Now this depends on the gearbox as well whether it is sequential or not also plays a big part. Colin was a legend and one of the nicest fellows I think I have ever met.

"But some of the best drivers in the world don't left foot brake" bitch... you're riding next yo colin mcrae. come again?

Left foot braking is an advanced driving technique. Like any new learned driving technique requires practice, mostly in becoming sensitive with your left foot as to how much pressure is needed. The most practical advantage is quicker braking response times. With left foot braking I can stop 10-15 feet shorter from 40 mph. I was actually surprised how short I can stop and how much time is lost transitioning from gas to brake. If you can't do it, don't discourage others. It is good to learn

Very awesome. Man he is missed. RIP Colin...

i don't know why people complain about left foot braking. it is so easy, it helps with control of the car so much, and it actually saves time...to some of course...to me it does.

Lessons from the king .RIP McRae

The man, the Legend. I don't think I would have gotten into WRC if it weren't for Mcrae.

Its a sequential manual. Sequential manual transmissions can be used without using the clutch. In an ordinary transmission he'd have a wrecked gearbox!

Just like he's chattin away on a nice sunday afternoon drive. Awesome

left foot braking was a front wheel drive technique that translated over into 4WD - it settles the car into and through the corners. somewhere on here there should be a vid of stig Blomquist showing the difference in the car's attitude with and without left foot braking, back when he was driving SAAB turbos (so early 1980s)...

sequential boxes have been in use in racing for sometime now, probably starting in F1 and then later in WRC. It's a hydraulic actuated clutch that makes gearchanging faster and less miss shifts. it won't ruin the gearbox, though sequential boxes need more maintenance than a normal manual.

I think one of the prerequisites to learning this techniques is a well fitted seat and solid restraint system. I'm trying to learn this in my little pickup truck and half the time my feet are busy keeping me from sliding off of the bench seat!

DAMN! I tried to do that once and is very very very hard, Colin MCrae is doing it like nothing... WOW Colin ROCKS!!!! we'll never forget you!!!!!

omg! he is teaching how to do a left foot breaking and still driving fast as hell!! colin u were the best there, was the best there is, and the best that will ever be! RIP from portugal

when I started driving I used my left foot to brake and I felt comfortable doing it but my father always kept telling me not to and that I should learn to use just one foot! that's how it's been ever since, just the right foot. to me it was actually fun

@N1bbyZ the reason why people are taught t0 use the same foot is mostly for new drivers (everyday street, not racing). A new driver thinks about everything. Using one foot eliminates one thing to think about. That's my guess. However, I think we should teach left foot brake because that may eliminate "I thought I was hitting the brake" when they were actually pressing gas Anyway, I've been left foot braking for years. I find it very easy, and gives the left something to do, lol

@diwiak well if you are using your left foot for braking, that means you are not using it for clutch apart from starting and stopping. this means when you are driving the ass off the thing the only way to change gears is without the clutch (because ur left foot is on the brake), therefore you have to find the right rpm for it to change into gear and as Colin said, your reactions are quicker etc.

You left-foot brake to transfer the weight of the car to the front hence allow front wheels to have better traction while turning. That is why you keep your right foot on the gas so you can use the greater traction to accelerate out of the corner.

One of the best... RIP Colin!

She handled that crazy ride well.

Colin...one & only ! R.I.P.

@burrowssj The car's are all equipped with either a sequential transmission, or a dogbox, which lets them shift rapidly without using the clutch as the gears are never far from disengaged (in laymen's terms). Motorcycles have used sequential gearboxes for ages and thus rarely need to use the clutch to shift, just blip the throttle, shift, get back on the throttle and you're on your way.

I drive an automatic and I do actually prefer left foot braking because I feel that my reaction times are faster and my reactions are more precise as well. In most road driving situations, the shortened reaction time is really not needed, but in traffic or in poor weather conditions, that 2 tenths can sometimes be the difference between a safe stop and a hefty insurance increase!

Just thought of a perfect example of this Drag racing! Preloading a clutch on a street car. Left foot gently riding the clutch, right foot half on the brake and half on the throttle. Lets green let the clutch out with left, right foot off the brake and on the gas in one motion.(Or ride the clutch for traction what ever you have to do) I would rather change a clutch than gears and drive line parts from just popping the clutch from a stand still. Plus if done well, you can pull some really good RT

@ednut69 The WRC as we know, are a type of cars that entered into force after the group A. Rally cars are divided into different groups, such as group B, group A, group T etc ... some are N / A and other turbocharged. What I'm saying is that WRC type are always turbocharged. Don't get me wrong.

1:22 he was able to turn that way relaxed as I park at the mall! R.I.P. master.

practise, i was doing it for 3 weeks when i had to walk by using crutches , the reactions on parking lots were priceless :)

The woman doing the interview is Penny Mallory, a former rally driver herself - and probably why she's so calm in the car.

Gear type does effect shifting, significantly. Yes, they both have syncros, but you can clutchless shift a straight cut transmission. Meaning, the time to press in the clutch, engage the next gear, release the clutch is going to take longer. Blip the throttle while engaging the next gear, can't do that with helical cut gears. This example is based on lap times using a tremec then using a Jerico. YMMV. Look up info on racing transmissions

Racers of turbo cars, as I am, often need to become good left-foot brakers to be quick. There are times when I press my accelerator to the floor while still under heavy left-foot braking to help the boost build before I even get to the apex of the corner. And when it IS time to accelerate, I have virtually no turbo lag. I also left-foot brake at any corner that does not involve the clutch, for many of the same reasons listed below. Still, I've never done ANY braking like Colin was doing. Wow!

he left foot brakes because a hell of a lot of a high speed rally car's handling characteristics are down to the weight of the car shifting, this occurs when braking and accelerating, by colin's sublime control he can make the car do things we could only ever dream of, also people are taught to right foot brake because on a road you are on the clutch a hell of a lot, it is not a race track my friend.

it's best to practice in an automatic car before going to clutch that way your foot gets a sensitivity of the brake and then move to clutch and practice on an open road going from 1st to 2nd to 3rd then stop that way your foot with get a better memory of it. I've actually found I'm better at shifting now also because my foots a lot more sensitive so I can really get a feel of when to catch the clutch. Good Luck with your left-foot braking!

Practice makes perfect partyboy, I drive Rally cars as well and with brake bias setup one can use the power and weight of the car to get throught corners faster and out of trouble quicker. Rally driving schools can teach you what you need to know. Cheers Chris NZ

The best place for an interview with McRae. :D

This guy was a hero. RIP.

@HungryGreeny you still need the clutch to launch the car, or when you come to a complete halt. but once you've gotten going, you can up and downshift without using the clutch. its called a sequential gearbox.. you cant call it a 'semiauto', because it doesnt change gears for you.

lol nice conversation during a leisurely country cruise.

Some say he had two brains. R.I.P Colin....Biggest fan from Egypt!

It uses a sequential/semi-auto gearbox so I think the clutch is only used to preventing the engine stalling during a spin.

I was watching this with a friend who said it needed subtitles... bull shit I can understand him perfectly.

haha this is funny, they have a perfectly normal conversation while he's driving

In a track, if you ever go Karting or Track days, when doing a time attack the left foot braking doesn't make MUCH difference. Especially if you're much comfortable with right foot braking. But transition between the gas/brake time can really eliminate a whole second off the track time when used properly. Switching your right foot from gas to brake as you can imagine would take about 0.25sec at the fastest. Normal road driving does not need LFB

Good old Colin, true legend, RIP fella

Very easy technique, and simple- In practice- only for drift/ slide

@thestoryteller612 sequentially gearbox it's called xtrac you use the clutch just for the 1'st and reverse

I'm using an old Carina at the moment, it doesn't seem to go into gear at all unless I've got the clutch at least halfway down, it feels like this is a deliberate design so I'm reluctant to force it. Still, I have just about grasped heel and toe in the last couple of weeks so I'm feeling positive. Thanks for the advice. =)

thanks mate, never had that feature in my eagle talon

when i was on my driving leason my instructor told me off for left foot braking... lol i do it all the time now, for some people it feels more natural ! R.I.P legend

True you can shift on the fly with the rally car's "dog box" transmission but you still need a clutch to start and and to do certain maneuvers. If you were to pull the e-brake/side brake with out engaging the clutch you'd stall the engine.

the reason why hes pumping the brake and throttle at the same time is to get greater traction out of the corners and also to keep the turbo pressure high

Heel toe is a downshift technique yes. I was talking more of street use that doesn't have anti lag systems or seq gear boxes. From some of the ways I have seen left foot braking being used, it would be pretty damn hard to do without heel toe in a standard manual gear box. Also, I have been taught never to use left for braking, so it would be hard to try and learn this. Learning to left foot brake with JUST the right foot, if I used it, would make more sense to me.

Racers in general use this technique from time to time. It seems to be becoming less and less common but it's a technique you'll see from time to time, and I like to use it.

lol. I use my left foot to brake too, once you adjust, the response time is so much faster than moving your right foot.

sequential gearbox, similar to a motorcycle gearbox. You can shift without clutching. You only really use the clutch to get going from a stop or when rev matching a downshift.

@seppel412 Yeah, he has a tipronic transmission- no need for a clutch. I guess the clutch pedal is there for a kick when sliding or something. However, I think it is possible to left foot break and heel/toe the break and clutch at the same time. Though I doubt it would be very effective.

yeah, it does, my wife's car is a fiesta 60 hp diesel, i do left foot braking when i hunt / follow someone with a more powerfull car on curved roads. it's fun. after a while you get the hang of it and it goeds good.just do it for fun, not all the time.

Besides MotoGP, Car Rally is almost much exciting for me. Colin McRae is great.

The interviewer is Penny Mallory, also a UK rally champion.

@dirtygaz Actually no, WRC has been always turbocharged. Nowadays the cars use a turbocharged 1.6 liter engine. Back then, a 2.0 liter turbocharged with 300 bhp.

@NexicProductions i think it's the same as before, because they're still using sequential :) i noticed 3 pedals in the car earlier (mini wrc) and when dani was taking me to the start of stage, he was using clutch to change gears.. soo road mode :)

in a car with a syncro box, i mix heel-toe and left foot braking (or sometimes even both foot braking if i really made a hash of it). in a car with a sequential or a dogbox, the clutchpedal is only for taking off and stopping to 0, the pedal has no right of being in the way of my left foot and should be a small lever on the steering wheel, preferably under the down-shift flipper

actually it saves time, and controls the balance of the car through the turn. It also keeps engine revs (and if you have turbo, keeps it spining) up. so 3 benefits.

RIP mcrae, you were the best!

@kickassmanga you dont need a clutch to change. its actually easier on the gearbox to change without a clutch if you get the rpm range perfect.

Here he is not even pushing the car and looks sooooo CRAZYY! I can't imagine what it's like when he's chasing time!!

Reason is because we’re used to using the left for the clutch when we brake but Colin here is just hammering along without using it once I don’t know if he’s changing gears or not

i'm used to a stiff clutch with steel braided line so my left foot has no subtlety.

@diwiak I understand it to be semi-auto, yet there is still a clutch pedal for the road sections between rally stages when you have to drive normally. It would be odd to use launch control at a normal stoplight. I doubt that they're shifting without a clutch...

@HungryGreeny semi automatic gearbox, you dont need the clutch to shift gears

i love how hes so chill and conversating but if you look at the bottom left cam that shit looks mad crazy,i'd be freakin out well thats why i'm not a world renowned rally legend xD

Colin mcrae was a badman! MAD SKILLS!

I would crap my self sitting beside a rallydriver in a rallycar. And here Colin is just speaking as if he was sitting on a chair in his kitchen... ;o)

"missed a jump" good ol' Collin !

@HungryGreeny Yes, it is used for the take off.

Its a great technic on loose surface like gravel, but very hard to do on sticky tarmac. Because the sensibility difference between the left and the right foot is by untrained drivers enormous.

I meant to say that it saves me time during racing conditions. not during driving on a regular road!

I miss this pilot!!! :-(

Man I miss Colin Mcrae.......Rally will never be the same without him and of course Richard burns :- (

Colin best pilot!

@100littlecurses clutch is there for road sections

i have a Volvo 740 turbo, completely stock. Max boost is achieved at around 2500rpm.

wow .. i would have given evry thing to have riden with colin .. wat a driving legde .. ive gota learn this technique

Applying both helps stable the car, and I've never heard about any driving test in America talk about anything technical, such as that. Always surprised me.

You can check it easily with FWD cars. Try to enter the corner too fast and turn the wheels - you will notice your car understeers (plows forward with wheels turned), then whithout releasing the gas apply little pressure to your brake with your left foot, car starts to turn and is not plowing. You have to be careful not to overcook it - you cannot defy laws of gravity (BTW - you cannot left-foot brake with VW group cars - they cut the fuel to the engine when you press both gas and brake pedals)

Colin McRae was great :( R.I.P

OR, just learn how to LFB... Left-foot-braking, when used properly, can also allow the driver to help control a car, with AWD and FWD cars, it can help counter understeer or help initiate oversteer. It's a very useful technique.

If i'm not mistaken, rally cars have their Foot brake pedal set up to use the REAR WHEEL brakes

this is true in all cars. when the engine and gearbox are at the same speed the gears mesh together easy. get it wrong though and CRUNCH!

sequential gearboxes don't need the use of a clutch to change gears while driving. You use the clutch while in the pits and what not at slow speeds.

he's like bla bla bla while driving 60 or so mph through the woods like they are having coffie! awesome!!

Speechless

is using automatic clutch gearbox off course!!! you can see him changing the gears near the wheel. Up gear he push it forward, down gear he push is backwards.

Early in the comments I made the statement that, "No driver should not able to left foot brake at today's level of WRC racing." I don't see how anyone, with today's technology, could right foot brake and be competitive.

@emtildeath still doesnt require the use of the clutch on recce's except for take offs and hairpin turns

He's flying with the car and stlill talking and being relaxed ! n/c more

me too, but with a manual gearbox. just don't do it if people are behind you. when i started doing this, i made a few mistakes and hit the brakes way to hard.

@Armistice023 Haha thank you for the answer :D i went driving with my dad for the first time and i understand now ^^ Btw , I was joking around crossing my feet (right foot : Clutch , left foot : gas/brake) Telling him it felt best that way. He got really pissed then though...