A lightweight polyester preform is disclosed for the production of light weight polyester containers by blow molding. The preforms and the resulting blown containers have threads on an exterior surface adjacent an upper end. Adjacent to and located below the threads is a support ring. The support ring is used in handling and conveying a preform from injection molding to a blow mold and in blow molding the container from the preform. It also is used in handling and conveying the preform from storage to the blow mold. To lightweight the preform, and subsequent container, the support ring is designed to have a minimum weight, but a sufficient strength for the handling of the preform in the production of the blow molded container. The support ring is reduced in weight by about 10% to about 70% from a conventional preform support ring.