| Antares Au 區天駿 | |
|---|---|
 Antares Au at Asian Le Mans 2024–2025 | |
| Nationality |  Hong Kong |
| Born | (1979-03-24)24 March 1979 (age 46) British Hong Kong |
| Asian Le Mans Series career | |
| Current team | Manthey Racing |
| Racing licence |  FIA Bronze |
| Best finish | 1st in2024–25 |
| Championship titles | |
| 2024–25 2024 | Asian Le Mans Series – GTIntercontinental GT Challenge – Independent Cup |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 區天駿 |
Antares Au (Chinese:區天駿; born 24 March 1979[1]) is aHong Kong racing driver. He is the2024–25 Asian Le Mans Series GT champion and the2024 Intercontinental GT Challenge Independent Cup champion.[2][3]
Au is a graduate ofColumbia University and a financial investor by training. He is a founding member ofAres SSG Capital Management, a pan-Asian private credit investor and subsidiary of Los-Angeles based alternative asset managerAres Management, and headed its investment activities in Greater China since its establishment in 2009.[4][5] He retired from finance in 2023 to pursue endurance racing.[6]
The first published record of Au's racing appears to be in 2017 when he competed inPorsche Carrera Cup Asia.[7] His association with FIA-homologatedGT3 racing began in 2019, when he finished fourth in-class at theDubai 24 Hours with Hong Kong driversFrank Yu,Jonathan Hui andKevin Tse.[8] Since then, Au has been associated with successive generations ofPorsche 911 racecars.
Au's first successes in GT3 started in 2021, when he won the inaugural6 Hours of Abu Dhabi with co-driver Chris Froggatt.[9] Au also made his full-season debut in the GT class ofAsian Le Mans, racing for Herberth Motorsport alongside Porsche factory driverKlaus Bachler and Steffen Görig.[10] He would continue to race for Herberth that same year at the24 Hours of Spa with co-drivers Robert Renauer and Alfred Renauer.[11]
In 2022, Au returned toAsian Le Mans and Herberth Motorsport, teaming up with Bachler for the second year running and with the addition ofYe Yifei.[12][13] The trio finished second in the season finale atYas Marina Circuit.[14][15] Au also returned to the 24 Hours of Spa, joiningJaxon Evans,Dylan Pereira andKevin Tse in Herberth Motorsport's Pro-Am lineup.[16]
In 2023, Au competed in the Spa round of theInternational GT Open championship alongsideMatteo Cairoli, in preparation for the 24 Hours of Spa, and won the race in Pro-Am class.[17] In the24 Hours of Spa, Au started from overall pole position and won the Bronze class with Cairoli,Tim Heinemann andJannes Fittje, becoming the first driver from Hong Kong to win this historic race in any class.[18][19][20] In October, Au debuted at the2023 Indianapolis 8 Hours with Porsche factory driverLaurin Heinrich and Alfred Renauer from pole position and finished second in Pro-Am classs.[21][22] In the last race of 2023, he finished third in-class at theGulf 12 Hours with Cairoli and Heinemann.[23]
In 2024, Au debuted at the24 Hours of Nürburgring with Lionspeed GP,[24] winning the SP9 Pro-Am class with Porsche factory driverPatric Niederhauser,Indy Dontje and Patrick Kolb, becoming the first driver from Hong Kong to win this race in any GT category.[25][26][27] Later in theIntercontinental GT Challenge series, Au returned to theIndianapolis 8 Hour with Niederhauser andLoek Hartog, starting this again from overall pole position and winning the Pro-Am class, securing the IGTC Independent Cup Championship title for 2024.[28][29]
In December, Au returned to theAsian Le Mans Series, joiningManthey Racing alongsideJoel Sturm andKlaus Bachler. In the first round atSepang, the trio retired in race one but rebounded in race two to take their first podium by finishing P2.[30] The next round inDubai saw the team leading at various points, but troubles prevented the trio from scoring podiums. In the final round atYas Marina, the team managed stay out of trouble and scored second in race one and won the final race, crowning Au and his co-drivers 2024–2025 season champions and earning him an invite to the 202524 Hours of Le Mans.[31][32]
Au participated in the 202524 Hours of Dubai withJonathan Hui,Kevin Tse andFrank Yu[33] and finished second in-class.[34][35]
† As Au was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
The YouTube docuseriesTo Be An Asset is an unscripted and unfiltered account of Au's journey through endurance racing as a bronze-rated driver. The series is produced on-location byIperFilm with accreditation from the various race organizers, and has garnered approx. one million views from 150,000 subscribers to-date.[47]
The first season captures Au's transition into racing, having retired from finance just as the season began. The four episodes are delineated by the major races they cover, with narration by the drivers and engineers involved, and generally feature a length of 30–40 minutes :
| # | Title | Release Date | Thumbnail | Race Event / (Series) | Team | Co-Drivers | Views† | Link to Episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1E1 | "Aspirations" (Series Premiere) | Nov 9, 2023 |  | 2023 Asian Le Mans Series | Herberth Motorsport | Klaus Bachler, Alfred Renauer | 34,500 | [1] |
| S1E2 | "Against All Odds" | Dec 13, 2023 |  | 2023 24 Hours of Spa | Huber Motorsport | Matteo Cairoli,Tim Heinemann,Jannes Fittje | 51,000 | [2] |
| S1E3 | "Consistency is King" | Dec 25, 2023 |  | 2023 Indianapolis 8 Hours | Huber Motorsport | Laurin Heinrich, Alfred Renauer | 55,500 | [3] |
| S1E4 | "Falling Apart" (Season Finale) | Jan 17, 2024 |  | 2023 Gulf 12 Hours | Herberth Motorsport | Matteo Cairoli,Tim Heinemann | 45,000 | [4] |
† Viewership data as of March 5, 2025
The episodes generated strong responses from English-speaking audiences around the world, and particularly resonated with track day enthusiasts and amateur racers, as observed from the 100+ published comments in the episode pages.
Based on feedback from the previous season, filming to season 2 began in December 2023 and continued into February 2025. The new episodes take on a shorter format, averaging 20–25 minutes each, but retain the narrative approach of the first season. A total of 8 episodes are planned, with the last release scheduled for May 2025.
† Viewership data as of March 5, 2025
