Reigning ELMS LMGTE Champion Christian Ried has been a familiar figure in the paddock for many years. The German driver wears two hats at every race meeting, the first as the driver of the no77 Porsche 911 RSR-19 and the second as Team Principal, overseeing the running of the three LMGTE and the one LMP2 entries.
The season got off to a far from ideal start for the no77 Porsche with Ried caught up as an innocent bystander in the second corner accident in Barcelona. “I’ve not got much to say about Barcelona,” he said. “For sure it was not the start of the new season as we expected - but that’s racing and there was nothing I could do to avoid the crash.”
However, they bounced back with a win for Ried and his teammates Giammarco Levorato and Julien Andlauer, crossing the line at the end of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet. “Paul Ricard was a super great weekend for us,” Christian Ried said. “The car was very nice to drive and all the guys - engineers, mechanics and my teammates - did a great job. However, for sure having no ballast from Barcelona was helping as well. It will be different in Aragon.”
Looking at the wider team how does the Team Principal sum up the performances of the no16 and no93 Porsches at Barcelona and Le Castellet? “I´m super sorry for both cars,” Ried said. “After Le Mans it would be nice for them if they had finished the race on the podium.
“Michael (Fassbender) did a great job in Barcelona and also at Paul Ricard, his pace was fast. He made a big step during the winter break. For Ryan (Hardwick) the ELMS is a new championship, and he is a very fast guy. I'm excited to see what the other four races will bring.”
2023 is the first season for Proton Competition running an LMP2 car, which is currently 5th in the LMP2 Pro/Am standings. How has the team adapted to running a Le Mans Prototype?“LMP2 is new for us and part of our LMDh program,” Ried said. “After running GT cars for 28 years, this is a new chapter for us. Daytona 24h was the first race and we won with our LMP2, so we had a great start but the competition in ELMS is very strong. In general, I'm very happy with our start but there is still some potential to improve.”
Christian’s son Jonas is racing alongside Gimmi Bruni and Giorgio Roda in the LMP2 entry. Was he tempted to race alongside Jonas in the same car this season?“I'm happy for Jonas. With Gimmi and Giorgio he has two very experienced drivers and the chance to learn a lot from them. Racing together would be cool on one side, but I don't like the idea he would be complaining that I’m too slow.”
Looking ahead to Aragon, what does Christian Ried think about this new circuit for the ELMS?“I'm looking forward racing at Aragon. We did some testing there a few years ago and it's a nice racetrack. It’s just the weather - for sure it will be super-hot there in August.”
The 4 Hours of Aragon is Round 3 of the 2023 European Le Mans Series and will take place on Saturday 26 August, the only night race on the calendar.
