| Christian Ried | |
|---|---|
 Ried in 2023 | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Born | (1979-02-24)24 February 1979 (age 46) |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Debut season | 1996 |
| Current team | Iron Lynx |
| Racing licence |  FIA Bronze |
| Car number | 61 |
| Starts | 88 |
| Wins | 13 |
| Previous series | |
| 2012-2023, 2025 2007-2011, 2013, 2015-2023 1999-2006 | FIA World Endurance Championship European Le Mans Series FIA GT Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2020,2022 | European Le Mans Series – LMGTE class |
Christian Ried (born 24 February 1979) is a German former racing driver and the team principal ofProton Competition. He last competed in theFIA World Endurance Championship, racing forIron Lynx in the #61 Mercedes-AMG GT3.[1]
Ried's father Gerold foundedProton Competition in 1996,[2] the team which Christian has spent most of his career racing for, beginning with theFIA GT Championship in 1999. As of 2021, Christian was team owner, facilitating the team's move to theWeatherTech SportsCar Championship alongside WeatherTech Racing in 2021.[3] Ried ran his first24 Hours of Le Mans in2006, driving in the GT2 class for Sebah Automotive Ltd.[4] He returned in 2011, driving for Proton Competition, and scored his first podium in2014, finishing second in the GTE Am class.[5] Four years later, Ried collected his first victory at the famous race, winning the GTE Am class alongside co-driversMatt Campbell andJulien Andlauer.[6] Two years later, Ried finished runner-up once again, this time with Riccardo Pera replacing Andlauer in the driver lineup.[7] That same year, Ried won theEuropean Le Mans Series championship in the GTE class on countback, after ending level on points withKessel Racing.[8]
In 2017 and 2018, Ried won the Porsche Cup, an award handed out to a non-factory driver who has most successfully piloted aPorsche over the course of the season.[9][10]
Ried is the only driver to have competed in every race of the first decade of theFIA World Endurance Championship, spanning from 2012 to 2022.[11] Following the 2023 season, after 85 consecutive races and 13 class victories in the championship, Ried announced his retirement from professional racing, electing to focus on the management of Proton Competition and his children's racing careers.[12] Ultimately, Ried returned to the championship for a one-off drive atInterlagos in2024, replacing full-season Bronze-ranked driver Giorgio Roda. Due to Proton Competition's transition toFord machinery in 2024, Ried's unscheduled appearance marked his first WEC start in a non-Porsche entry.[13]
For 2025, Ried would return to racing, doing the first two rounds for Italian teamIron Lynx in their first season as a Mercedes-AMG customer team.[14] He would step back after the6 Hours of Imola, citing his inability to combine racing activities with his duties as a team principal. Ried was replaced for the remainder of the season by Australian racer Martin Berry, starting from the6 Hours of Spa.[15]
His sonJonas, is currently competing in theEuropean Le Mans Series.[16]His other son Lenny is currently competing inF4 Spanish Championship forMonlau Motorsport.[17]
† As Ried was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 GT2 | GT2 | MNZ Ret | SIL 10 | HOC 18† | HUN Ret | ZOL 8 | OSC Ret | DON 10 | HOM | GLN | ZHU 8 | NC | 0 | |
| 2000 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 GT2 | GT | VAL 17 | EST 26 | MNZ 13 | SIL Ret | HUN 11 | ZOL 16 | A1R Ret | LAU 19 | BRN 17 | MAG Ret | NC | 0 | |
| 2001 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 GT2 | GT | MNZ Ret | BRN 26 | MAG Ret | SIL 22 | ZOL Ret | HUN | SPA | A1R NC | NÜR DNS | JAR 18 | EST 20 | NC | 0 |
| 2002 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 GT2 | GT | MAG | SIL | BRN | JAR 10 | AND 11 | OSC 8 | SPA Ret | PER Ret | DON 6 | EST 12 | 28th | 1 | |
| 2003 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 GT2 | GT | CAT 19 | MAG Ret | PER Ret | NC | 0 | ||||||||
| Porsche 911 GT3-RS | N-GT | BRN 9 | DON 10 | SPA Ret | AND 9 | OSC 13 | EST Ret | MNZ 8 | 45th | 1 | ||||||
| 2004 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | N-GT | MNZ 3 | VAL 5 | MAG 4 | HOC 4 | BRN 5 | DON 8 | SPA 5 | IMO 7 | OSC 5 | DUB 7 | ZHU 5 | 5th | 44 |
| 2005 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | GT2 | MNZ 6 | MAG 9 | SIL 5 | IMO 4 | BRN 4 | SPA 3 | OSC 3 | IST 4 | ZHU Ret | DUB 4 | BHR | 5th | 44 |
| 2006 | Team Felbermayr-Proton | Porsche 911 GT3-RS | GT2 | SIL 4 | BRN 7 | OSC 7 | SPA 5 | PRI Ret | DIJ 4 | MUG 6 | HUN 6 | ADR Ret | DUB 8 | 11th | 25.5 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Proton Competition | LMGTE Am | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0LFlat-6 | SEB 2 | SPA 4 | LMS Ret | IMO DSQ | SIL 2 | PET Ret | ZHU 1 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SIL 1 | IMO 5 | RBR 8 | HUN 1 | LEC 3 | 2nd | 80 | |
| 2015 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SIL 5 | IMO 2 | RBR 5 | LEC 4 | EST 8 | 6th | 55 | |
| 2016 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SIL 6 | IMO 4 | RBR 5 | LEC Ret | SPA 2 | EST 5 | 7th | 60 |
| 2017 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SIL 2 | MNZ 5 | RBR 5 | LEC 6 | SPA 6 | ALG 1 | 3rd | 80 |
| 2018 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | LEC 5 | MNZ 2 | RBR 4 | SIL 4 | SPA 5 | ALG 1 | 4th | 83 |
| 2019 | Dempsey-Proton Racing | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0LFlat-6 | LEC 3 | MNZ 1 | CAT 6 | SIL 7 | SPA 2 | ALG Ret | 2nd | 76 |
| 2020 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0LFlat-6 | LEC 1 | SPA 6 | LEC 2 | MNZ 2 | ALG 1 | 1st | 99 | |
| 2021 | WeatherTech Racing | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 | CAT 2 | RBR 6 | LEC 4 | MNZ 9 | SPA 7 | ALG 5 | 6th | 57 |
| 2022 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 LFlat-6 | LEC 2 | IMO Ret | MNZ 2 | CAT 1 | SPA 9 | ALG 5 | 1st | 82 |
| 2023 | Proton Competition | LMGTE | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 LFlat-6 | CAT Ret | LEC 1 | ARA 4 | SPA 8 | PRT 1 | ALG 2 | 2nd | 85 |
| Source:[18] | ||||||||||||
* Season still in progress.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | European Le Mans Series LMGTE Champion 2020 With:Alessio Picariello &Michele Beretta | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Le Mans Series LMGTE Champion 2022 With:Gianmaria Bruni & Lorenzo Ferrari | Succeeded by |
