Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the record-breaking 14-times FIA Middle East rally champion, steps out of retirement after more than 12 years this weekend to contest the second round of the 2015 UAE National Rally Championship.

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Sulayem, who won the Dubai International Rally for the 15th time on his last competitive appearance in December 2002, will be partnered again by his co-driver of many years, Irishman Ronan Morgan, for the Sharjah Rally on Saturday.

Together they formed the most successful partnership in Arab rallying history, securing the Middle East title ten times and enjoying an unprecedented level of international rally success in the Middle East and overseas.

Sulayem has accepted an invitation to compete in the Sharjah Rally from Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi, founder and President of the Emirates Motorsport Club, organisers of the UAE National Rally Championship

"When Sheikh Abdullah asked me to enter I couldn't turn him down," said Sulayem, President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE.

"He is doing so much good work to revive rallying in the UAE, and I have to support him and do what I can to promote a sport which has given me so much in my life. If my appearance can help to encourage more young Emiratis to take up rallying, or persuade some of our older local competitors to return, that will be very satisfying.”

Sulayem and Morgan will compete in the rebuilt Ford Escort WRC which they took to victory in the 1999 Jordan International Rally, the car’s last competitive event.

Said Sulayem: "I'm excited, I'm a little nervous, and I really don't know what to expect after being out of rallying for more than 12 years. I've prepared as well as I can in a very short period of time. I've been able to do a little bit of testing in the desert and I'll get some practice on the route before the rally and just take it from there.

“Rallying has been overtaken by other motor sport disciplines in recent years. But it’s is my passion and, like Sheikh Abdullah, I want to see it go from strength to strength again in the future here in the UAE and across the region."

His first overseas rally win came in Turkey in 1991. He also recorded World Rally Championship Group N victories in Spain and Argentina over the next two years.

His achievements brought him widespread recognition, including medals of honour from King Hussein of Jordan and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. In 1999, he was named UAE Sportsman of the Century by Agence France-Press.

Sulayem took over as President of the ATCUAE in 2006 and two years later became the first Arab to be elected Vice President of the FIA and member of the World Motor Sport Council. Morgan is now the ATCUAE’s General Manager.