12-07-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Meet the one-track minds behind the Le Mans 24-hour race
'The first night session couldn't have been more stressful if there were snakes in the car and meteorites falling from the sky.'
Antares Au isn't new to 24-hour racing – he's won his class at Belgium's Spa and Germany's Nürburgring – but nothing, he says, quite prepares you for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Le Mans course is stitched together from public roads and permanent trackway. Photo: Andrew Baker/Rolex
Last month marked his debut at France's legendary endurance race, alongside fellow Hongkonger Jonathan Hui Kin-tak. They were two drivers on the 62 teams competing at this year's race, and for a city that's only ever had a handful of Le Mans entries, their presence stood out.
Before the engines fired and the Tricolore dropped, both drivers had already run a gauntlet of simulator training, scrutineering, test laps and town parades. Hui, who grew up watching race highlights on VHS tapes mailed from Europe, called the experience 'larger than life'. Au, for his part, had simply hoped to survive the first night intact.
I remember that feeling. In 2007, I became the first driver to represent Hong Kong at Le Mans. I didn't win (far from it), but I still remember the calm in the cockpit at 3am, headlights piercing the dark, time stretching out like the road ahead.
Le Mans is known for its engineering and endurance, but it's also a reflection of racing culture: how sport, style and identity come together. The fans, the brands, the atmosphere around the track.
