KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 21 -- When Malay Mail met Andy Howard in Kuala Lumpur it was the kind of encounter where a casual chat turns into an inspirational story.

He arrived with the dusty grin of a man who has slept in his car more nights than he can count, his drift car parked nearby like a battle-scarred steed.

There was no entourage, no theatrics - just a jovial, confident Irishman who seemed to believe, quite stubbornly, that the world will make room for you if you keep moving forward.

We spoke at length before sitting down for lunch, where Andy drifted easily from motorsport to life philosophy. He talks like a motivator, the sort of person who does not just chase goals but interrogates fear itself.

Difficult beginnings

Andy, 31, was ...