Ryan John Briscoe is an Australian–American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.

An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fenders. Open-wheel cars are built both for road racing and oval track racing. Open-wheel cars licensed for use on public roads, such as the Ariel Atom, are uncommon, as they are often impractical for everyday use.