Ried's father Gerold founded Proton Competition in 1996, the team which Christian has spent most of his career racing for, beginning with the FIA GT Championship in 1999. As of 2021, Christian was team owner, facilitating the team's move to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship alongside WeatherTech Racing in 2021. Ried ran his first 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006, driving in the GT2 class for Sebah Automotive Ltd. He returned in 2011, driving for Proton Competition, and scored his first podium in 2014, 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. 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 championship in the GTE class on countback, after ending level on points with Kessel Racing.