“I would be a very different person and I am not sure I like the person I would have been if I did not do this [driving],” Au said.

“Racing forces you to be more of a person, to have more dimensions than a business or finance person. It puts you out into the real world and resets your expectations because you used to think in a certain way in business, but maybe there is a bigger world out there.”

According to Au, being a member of the German-based Herberth Motorsport team was a humbling experience, especially as his lack of know-how meant he was deemed to be the lowest level of driver by the sport’s governing body.

“Every weekend I showed up I was there to learn,” he said. “It was a general life lesson, being among the best helped you gain perspective as a person.

“If I am dumb for the first time, I cannot be dumb a second time. Tell me how I can improve because my job is to not make the same mistake twice.

“And if you are taking that mindset over five or even 10 years, you’ll probably be OK, because you probably won’t be making many dumb mistakes.”

Au is one of several drivers from the city who have opted for endurance racing, with Darryl O’Young, Jonathan Hui and Shaun Tong also involved in the sport.

And with his third full season in the Asian Le Mans Series beginning next week, Au said the discipline presented the “next level of challenge” because of the team aspect.

“It is like arranging a business project, you need to get the right people and resources, putting them together that maximise everyone’s chance,” Au, who finished second in the GT class in the final race of the ALMS last year, said.

“Given the limited resources we have, we can only do certain things. I think I am better at understanding the strategy of a race, where I can contribute and put the right resources together for a line-up.

With one win, five poles and eight podiums so far in his career as an amateur driver, Au knows there are always things to learn, and said while he wasn’t as good as a silver category driver he could work on becoming “the best bronze out there”.

“You need to recognise your limitations, so work with people who can bring you up,” he said.

As lonely as it may be in the car on any given stint, Au, who is a partner at Ares SSG Capital Management, sees similarities between making a decision in the office or on the track.

“Finance is all about risks and rewards,” he said. “Racing is very much that too, you need to know what you are doing. At every corner on the track you have a few simple things to do – break, turn and gas – but there is the precision required to those few moves.

“Can you overtake the car in front? Maybe you can, but there may be risks involved. Risks and rewards are always there on the track.

“How should I conduct myself in each stint? Do I push right out of the gate, or be preserved? That risk decision becomes more holistic, is it a necessary risk?”

Au will be driving in the No 33 Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside Austrian Klaus Bachler, an official Porsche driver, and Herberth team co-principal Alfred Renauer this season.

The Asian Le Mans Series, which involved four four-hour races, begins on February 11 and finishes on February 19.

Races will be held at the Dubai Autodrome, and the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, with the winner invited to France to compete in the 100th running of the Le Mans race in June.