Even for a man with Andrew Howard’s considerable experience in motorsport competing in a 24-hour endurance race is a daunting prospect.

The Wycombe Wanderers chairman is preparing to take to the famous Le Mans track tomorrow where he will test himself against renowned drivers at frightening speeds.

It is a challenge the two-time British GT Champion is relishing, even if he accepts there is a certain amount of apprehension surrounding his maiden outing at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

“It’s exciting and nerve wracking,” Howard explained. “When you are doing 180 or 190 miles per hour and there is an Audi prototype coming past you at 230, and at the wheel of one of the Porsches is Mark Webber, it is cool.

“I think it is going to be one of those things you will do and either go oh my god this is the best thing ever or oh my god this is the scariest thing ever.”

A cocktail of emotions is understandable ahead of such a gruelling sporting test and there is little that can be done to counteract them.

However, Howard is eager to remain in control of as many variables as possible ahead of the race, which he will complete alongside Gary Hirsch and Liam Griffin.

It is part of the reason he is competing in his first Le Mans some 15 years after forming Beechdean Motorsport, and he is clearly delighted to be part of the Aston Martin team for the event.

He said: “I had the chance [to do Le Mans] a couple of years ago, but not with the Aston factory team.

“The first time I wanted to do it with the right team and the right car, so to be included in the Aston team has been a massive privilege.”

Howard’s target to finish the race and no more could be considered a modest one, but there is sense in his view that completing an event which has a high rate of failure would be an achievement.

It is an approach which mirrors that of Wycombe Wanderers in many ways, where the need for stability is valued highly and progress is made one step at a time.

“For me it is a similar sort of philosophy for motorsport as we have in football, we just want to survive,” Howard explains.

“I would come back to the competitiveness of how we feel at Wycombe. Both Gareth [Ainsworth] and I are competitive people. We want to succeed and we want to do the best job we can.”

“Motor racing is really about three seasons within any championship. The first season you go in and don’t make an arse of yourself.

“It is just about finishing. My ultimate goal would be to one day be on the podium at Le Mans, but we’ll set our stall out this year, cross our fingers and see where we go.”