Ried to Sub for Roda in No. 88 Proton Mustang GT3 in Brazil

Photo: MPS Agency

Christian Ried will come out of retirement for this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship round in Sao Paulo, subbing for team driver Giorgio Roda in the No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3.

The Proton co-owner, who hung up his helmet following last year’s season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain, will join Mikkel O. Pedersen and Ford Performance factory driver Dennis Olsen at the wheel of the LMGT3 entry.

A reason for Roda’s absence from the fifth round of the WEC season has not been disclosed.

The No. 88 Mustang is coming off a podium finish in last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which marked the Multimatic-built GT3 contender’s best result to date globally.

“I can’t wait to stand in for Giorgio in Sao Paulo, but it will be a one-time thing,” Ried said. “The races at Spa and Le Mans proved that we’re capable of making up ground on our strong competitors.

“And not just in LMGT3, where we took our first podium with the Mustang GT3 alongside our new partner Ford.

“We’re also seeing an upward trend in the Hypercars, which makes one or two top results for our Porsche 963 in the latter half of the season a realistic goal.”

The German squad will again field a total of three cars, including its Porsche 963 for Julien Andlauer and Neel Jani. Regular third driver, Harry Tincknell, will be on IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship duty at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John