“I’ve been back and forth, which has been difficult because I have two young children. I’m quite torn because it’s difficult to explain to them why I need to race in Europe, especially when the Covid situation is perhaps worsening,” he said.

“They say ‘dad, it’s getting a lot worse over there, please don’t go’. To them, I’m potentially putting my health at risk, so frankly they’re quite upset when I say I have to race. We have lots of debates because they’re aware of the situation around the world. In Hong Kong, we’re very careful and cognisant of health and safety. I try to explain to them that there’s a duty and commitment in any team sport. So for me, it’s about honouring that commitment more than saying ‘I love racing’.”

While many have undergone a mind-numbing two-week quarantine period, only a handful will have completed it on multiple occasions, back-to-back.

“Coming back to Hong Kong after my previous races, there was two weeks quarantining and as I [return] there’s another two weeks, so potentially a month and a half of my life is given up on quarantine requirements just to race. It’s a very big sacrifice and not something I expected when I started the season. But it is what it is,” Hui said, adding that organisers have done the best they can in terms of implementing on- and off-track safety protocol. “It’s just a shame that the usual fan atmosphere in races in Europe is non-existent at the moment.”

“They’ve been telling all their friends. They know it’s my passion so they’re happy for me,” Hui said. “Cars really is my primary passion and it’s been that way since childhood. The only gifts I was interested in were toy cars, and that evolved into building model cars, then racing remote-controlled cars before I learned to drive.

“In Hong Kong, we don’t yet have the resources and facilities for racing activities – or even to train. At the moment when I’m in Hong Kong, there’s not much time you can commit to racing apart from practising on a simulator. In reality, the amount of time allotted is not that much.”

In 2018, Hong Kong Automobile Association became a member of the Olympic Committee of Hong Kong. The same year, Hui had helped form the Hong Kong Racing Team and – alongside fellow amateur drivers Kevin Tse, Frank Yu and Antares Au – competed in the 24 Hours of Dubai and subsequent GT3 endurance races. The quartet chat between quarantines but will properly reunite when the time is right.

“This year is more or less a write-off. It has been very difficult for Asian motorsport and lot of Hong Kong racers, apart from a few exceptions. The GT World Challenge Asia Series has been completely called off for the year – and other championships in Asia, too, because of travel restrictions. It’s not just for drivers, remember, but the teams running these, so it’s been tough for everyone,” Hui said, adding that he was still unsure whether this year’s Dubai 24-hours will happen.

“Next year hopefully there will be opportunities again. We don’t know what races will go ahead or what races are possible. Nonetheless, any opportunity for us to fly the Hong Kong flag overseas and raise awareness for our sport is something I’m very happy to do. I really hope there’s more opportunities for younger drivers who want to get into the sport.

“There is talent out there, but we need resources to groom them. Hopefully the government will notice the potential and take it more seriously. Just to show that motorsport is a sport and that we have the capabilities to do well out of Hong Kong.”