Pring reflects on taking both Legend crowns in 2024

It was a perfect year for Ryan Pring in Legend Cars Australia, he not only won the championship, but also the Australian title.

Pring was fast, but he stayed out of trouble and collected very solid points even on his off days, which majorly contributed to him winning the championship in 2024.

The man from Canberra may not have taken as many race wins as Lachlan Ward or Robert Hogan, but he collected the points.

Heading into the final round Pring held a healthy margin, but he couldn’t just put around. With so many points on offer, and with so many drivers in mathematical contention, he had to have a solid final round.

The winner of the final round was also given the honour of the national title, in that round Pring dominated to win Legend Car national title and well as sealing the championship on the same weekend.

“Winning both titles in one event was pretty special,” Pring said. “At first, we weren't even looking at the Aussie title, but then as the weekend went on, we were like, no, we're going for both. I’m one of the first people to do it, it feels amazing.

“It was the perfect weekend, having all my friends and family out there, having sponsors there watching.”

Pring had taken a national title before, but never a championship. As a result it was expected that Pring would be consistent.

However, he dominated the round, winning four of the five races and finishing second in the other.

“It makes me feel really happy about what I did this year,” he said. “It's what I've been looking to for a while, and it just makes me feel really happy.

“The thinking was just to get top fives and say consistent, I wasn't planning on winning any races, I just wanted to be up there around the front.

“The end of Saturday is when I thought, I think I've got both in the bag.”

The driver of car #333 discussed the key attribute to his season, his consistency.

“Keeping a clear mind and trying to do the most I could while everyone else had differing results, sometimes that meant staying in the exact same spot,” he explained.

“Let's say you miss one round for example, your whole championships over. Even missing two is very bad for the championship.

“The reverse top 10 races are really important for the championship. The field is so competitive, if you get shuffled down to the back, it can easily ruin your whole rest of the weekend, the guys are so quick, it's hard to overtake.

“The competition was very fierce this year, it was extremely hard to try and stay up the top, and all these new guys they are making it a lot harder.”

Pring saw eight drivers score race wins before he took his first of the season at the penultimate round. From there he went on to win five of the final seven races, but where did the late season form come from?

“Towards the end we made a lot of setup changes, and we were waiting on a few parts to come from America. Once they got here, the car was just unbelievable,” Pring recalled.

“It felt like a completely different car, it wanted to do exactly what I asked of it, it just didn't skip a beat.”

It will come as little surprise that when asked what his season highlight was, Pring picked out a memory from the final round, but it might not be the one you expect.

“For me the race that stands out the most was actually the third race at One Raceway, the reverse top 10,” he said.

“Starting 10th, I made my way through the field, and by lap two, I was already leading and ended up winning by eight seconds. That was an amazing race for me, one of the best I've had.”

Pring thanked the key people who made his campaign a success in 2024, he already has his eyes on 2025.

“It was amazing, I just can't thank my sponsors enough, my dad for making it all happen, and everyone who came out to watch,” he said.

“I will stay in Legend Cars try and defend the titles, but I might try other categories like Hyundai Excels and some endurance racing.”