Dubai: The UAE’s Mansour Al Helei will compete against 15 other rising stars of motorsport next week for the chance to earn recognition as one of the world’s most talented young drivers.

Al Helei will represent the UAE in the four-day Middle East and Mediterranean qualifying event at Yas Marina Circuit, home of November’s FI Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, for the revamped FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.

Hosted by the Automobile and Touring Club (ATCUAE) of the UAE, it is one of five selection events being staged globally to deliver eight of the best young drivers into the academy, with the ultimate aim to turn them into future world champions.

ATCUAE selected Al Helei based on his performances in recent years in Middle East cross-country rallies, including the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

The 21-year-old, who is the son of UAE cross-country rally specialist Yahya Al Helei, has been around motorsport most of his life and aims to compete in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in 2014.

Currently a student at the American University of Dubai, Al Helei tackled his first event, the 2010 Desert Challenge, as co-driver for his father. He has entered the event as a driver for each of the last three years, finishing 11th overall in 2011 in the UAE round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

He has also contested the last three editions of the Qatar Sealine Cross-Country Rally, with a best overall result of 12th in 2012.

“This is a great opportunity for all the drivers to display their driving talent on one of the world’s best F1 circuits and show they have other qualities needed to make it to the top in motorsport,” said Dr Mohammad Bin Sulayem, president of the ATCUAE and FIA vice-president for sport.

“We’re proud to be hosting the regional selection event on behalf of the FIA Institute for the new and improved Young Driver Excellence Academy, which is there to develop future world champions in the right way, with safety as a focus.”

Getting under way next Sunday at Yas Marina Circuit, the regional selection event will set a series of tests on the track, and in the classroom, for the 16 drivers who have been nominated by their respective national motorsport authorities.

The programme, using Abu Dhabi’s Grand Prix facility, is being run by former F1 racer and double Le Mans winner, Alex Wurz, and 2001 World Rally Champion co-driver Robert Reid.

On the final day, the group will be cut to the top six who will compete in a shoot-out on track. The winner enters the full Academy programme with winners from the other selection events in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, along with three wildcard selections.

Featuring events at locations across Europe over the following season, the Academy will deliver a fully-funded training programme to help drivers develop their motorsport careers, also increasing safety skills and promoting fairness and responsibility on and off the track.

Other drivers taking part in Abu Dhabi include Bahrain’s Abdullah Al Thawadi, Kuwait’s Zaid Ashkanani, Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Bamogaddam, Oman’s Mannan Al Rawahi, Egypt’s Ahmad Sharif and Syrian Yazan Hamadeh.

The event was expanded for geographical and logistical reasons, and the line-up also includes drivers from Jordan, Cyprus, Palestine, Morocco, Sudan, Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Germany.