Antares Au is a GT3 racer from Hong Kong with a résumé that has grown heavier over the past two years, anchored by titles including the 2024–2025 Asian Le Mans Series and the 2024 Intercontinental GT Challenge Independent Cup. On paper, it looks like a dream season. Up close, it was more complex, the sort of year that exposes a driver to both the scale of his ambition and the weight that comes with it.
His three highlights came quickly when he was asked to look back: winning the Asian Le Mans Series, debuting at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and nearly climbing onto the overall podium at Suzuka. Each one marks a different shade of progress. The Asian Le Mans campaign showed his ability to manage a championship and stay present through travel, jet lag, and the strange rhythm of endurance racing. Le Mans was something else entirely. It is the kind of debut young drivers imagine from childhood, and he carried the moment as if aware of its place in his career timeline. Suzuka stung more, so close to a podium that it almost felt cruel.
Even with the trophies, he didn't feel he hit the targets he'd set. "I failed. I had big expectations of myself and didn't convert. Made myself miserable in the process," he said. It is rare for a driver to open the door that wide. His reflection lands in a low voice, not dramatic but honest. The season taught him that effort has its limits and that the mind can push back when pressure stacks too high. "Trying harder doesn't necessarily make one better. Skills and grit are a given. But you also need to learn to work smartly, which I didn't. [Otherwise, y]ou can get in your own way of achieving good things," he said.
Away from the track, he found the one thing he didn't expect to enjoy so much: "Taking three weeks off between Nov[ember] and December and doing absolutely zero driving or sim." He let the wheel go quiet for the first time in months. It helped him recognise how much noise he carries during the year and how easy it is to forget the simple pleasure of stillness.
Looking ahead, Au moves into the World Endurance Championship alongside a continued programme in the GT World Challenge Europe. "[It will be a] new platform [and a] new challenge but we’ve started testing and working together in Dec[ember] already," he said of the step into WEC, a transition that is already underway rather than theoretical.
The only thing he commits to is a reminder he would give to anyone joining the grid for the first time:
"It's not a right but a privilege to do what we love. Go from there, make every minute matter, and remember to smile.”
