Hong Kong racer Antares Au on why he risks it all in name of motorsport ahead of Asian Le Mans outing
- The 41-year-old finance worker to miss his wife’s birthday and family Lunar New Year for Covid-19-impacted Dubai series
- ‘You have to go the extra distance for the consequences of me choosing to do this’ says amateur driver Au
Hong Kong racer Antares Au is busy strategising in Abu Dhabi for his fifth Asian Le Mans Series spanning this month. The 41-year-old has managed to sustain international endurance racing and compete during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite having a full-time finance job.
Au, who clocked his personal best at the notoriously tough Dubai 24 Hour Race in January, compared the overnight race to a familiar scene back home.
“Imagine Gloucester Road or Nathan Road – it’s about that wide, except instead of all the cars going at least 70km sor 80km, the fastest we are going is 250km,” said Au, who is racing with German-based Herberth Motorsport this season.
“There will be things beyond your control and you must figure out how to survive and recharge your car and yourself. Then at daybreak you think ‘we’ve survived the night’, but the race ends at 2pm so you still have many hours to go. It’s a very long, evolving and tiring process.”
But while the physical fatigue wears off after a couple of deep sleeps, the mental toll drags alongside the extra safety precautions, tests and quarantines. Au, who briefly returned to the city only to face a 21-day quarantine before flying straight back out, sacrificed a lot to make this UAE adventure come to fruition.