Christian Ried (born 24 February 1979) is a German former racing driver and the team principal of

Proton Competition Proton Competition (also formerly racing as Dempsey-Proton Racing or Team Felbermayr-Proton) is a German auto racing team based in Ummendorf, Baden-Württemberg. It was founded by Gerold Ried, and is currently owned by his son Christian Ried. Th ...

. He last competed in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

, racing for

Iron Lynx Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab is an Italian auto racing team founded by Andrea Piccini, Deborah Mayer, Claudio Schiavoni and Sergio Pianezzola. The team is based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. They primarily participate in sports car racing, and are a sis ...

in the #61 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Career

Ried's father Gerold founded

in 1996, the team which Christian has spent most of his career racing for, beginning with the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

in 1999. As of 2021, Christian was team owner, facilitating the team's move to the

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

alongside WeatherTech Racing in 2021. Ried ran his first

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, driving in the GT2 class for Sebah Automotive Ltd. He returned in 2011, driving for Proton Competition, and scored his first podium in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, finishing second in the GTE Am class. Four years later, Ried collected his first victory at the famous race, winning the GTE Am class alongside co-drivers Matt Campbell and

Julien Andlauer Julien Andlauer (born 5 July 1999 in Lyon) is a racing driver from France. He is a Porsche factory driver who competes in a range of championships having won both Porsche Carrera Cup France, French and Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, German Carrera ...

. Two years later, Ried finished runner-up once again, this time with Riccardo Pera replacing Andlauer in the driver lineup. That same year, Ried won the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

championship in the GTE class on countback, after ending level on points with

Kessel Racing Loris Kessel (1 April 1950 – 15 May 2010) was a racing driver from Switzerland. Biography Kessel was born in Lugano. He participated in six Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 May 1976. He scored no championship points. ...

. In 2017 and 2018, Ried won the Porsche Cup, an award handed out to a non-factory driver who has most successfully piloted a

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

over the course of the season. Ried is the only driver to have competed in every race of the first decade of the

, spanning from 2012 to 2022. 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. Ultimately, Ried returned to the championship for a one-off drive at

Interlagos Interlagos is a neighborhood located in the district of Socorro (district of São Paulo), Socorro in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Its name comes from the fact that the region is located between two large reservoirs, Guarapiranga and Billings ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, replacing full-season Bronze-ranked driver Giorgio Roda. Due to Proton Competition's transition to

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

machinery in 2024, Ried's unscheduled appearance marked his first WEC start in a non-Porsche entry. For 2025, Ried would return to racing, doing the first two rounds for Italian team

in their first season as a Mercedes-AMG customer team. He would step back after the

6 Hours of Imola The 6 Hours of Imola is an endurance race for sports cars, held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. History The race was first held as the fourth round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the third round of the 20 ...

, 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 the 6 Hours of Spa.

Personal life

His son

Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States Arts, entertainment, and media * Jonas Brothers, American pop rock band. ** ''Jonas'' (TV serie ...

, is currently competing in the

. His other son Lenny is currently competing in

F4 Spanish Championship The F4 Spanish Championship () is an FIA Formula 4 racing series. The championship was planned to launch in 2015, though the inaugural season was cancelled and delayed until 2016. Koiranen GP was the promoter of the championship for the first tw ...

for Monlau Motorsport.

Racing record

Racing career summary

† As Ried was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.

Complete FIA GT Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Intercontinental Le Mans Cup results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Le Mans Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ried, Christian 1979 births Living people German racing drivers Sports car racing team owners 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers FIA GT Championship drivers American Le Mans Series drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers 24H Series drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers KCMG drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers People from Schöneberg Racing drivers from Berlin 24 Hours of Spa drivers Proton Competition drivers Iron Lynx drivers