It was the same spin for each new race course attempted.

His first time behind the wheel would be a combination of side swiping cars as well as crashing into walls during sharp turns.

The second lap would see him handling the corners and turns much better, but still banging into walls. But by the third race, Mr Denis Lian would have most of the cars in the race choking on his exhaust fumes.

Granted, this achievement was only made in several different video games, but it showed how Singapore's first professional race car driver got to be at the top of his game.

And believe it or not, video game racing is a staple training regimen for the 34-year-old who, together with a racing wheel peripheral, turns his living room into a race car simulator.

"There's no racing circuit here. It'll be nice to jump into a go-kart but the good ones are in Johor Baru, so there's the issue with accessibility," explained Mr Lian, who, after several wins at the Asian Formula 2000, became the first Singaporean to compete in Europe in the Formula Palmer Audi Euroseries in 2005.

So instead of the fancy fast cars he drives in the circuit, Mr Lian's weapon of choice at home is a Logitech GT Force wheel hooked onto a PlayStation 2 playing Gran Turismo 4 (GT 4).

One of the more authentic race car games in the market, GT 4 features more than 50 racetracks, including Germany's Nurburgring (The Ring) and Japan's Suzuka Circuit.

The game also has models of several hundred licensed vehicles from 80 car manufacturers worldwide, and offers gamers a chance to tune their vehicles the way the professionals do it.

Combined with a racing wheel that has vibration feedback, the only thing missing from the whole experience is the smell of burning rubber.

"Having a console at home with a game that has actual simulations of race circuits helps. Pilots have been doing it for years and race cars drivers are now doing the same," said Mr Lian.