THE build up to the 2016 CowdenbeathRacvewall season reaches a crucial stage this weekend.

The first of the practice meetings scheduled for the Racewall takes place on Sunday February 22, but this year it is a meeting with a difference.

Whilst part of the format will be the same, open to all new drivers to the sport it is also open to the white grade drivers but the main attraction will be a legends 2 litre National saloon meeting where drivers from the past are taking part in three races in aid of the Joan Purdie Cancer Appeal.

The gates are opening around noon and the racing starts at 1.30pm

It has certainly caught the imagination and at this stage booked into race are Diggy Smith John Halifax and Georgie Boult Snr from south of the Border whilst Ronnie Wright and Winston Weir are heading over from Northern Ireland.

However, it is the Scottish line up which is attracting the most interest and is headed by multi championship winner Harry Burgoyne and even in a meeting such as this Harry will not be taking things easy.

Other Scots booked in are Stuart Shevill Snr, Kenny Purdie, David Archer, Gordon Alexander, Bill Auld, Brian Irvine, Bill Barrack, Jock Maxwell, Mike Robertson and Jim Honeyman.

Rumoured to be racing, but not as yet booked in, is Bob Jones another mutli championship winner plus one or two more drivers who have as yet not confirmed their booking.

Burgoyne won his world Championships in 1994 and 98 whilst Smith won his in 1997 and 2000. Halifax won back to back titles in 1995 and 6. However, if Jones does appear then he was the first to successfully defend his title and that was in 1986 and 87.

There have been plenty of “wild encounters” between the Scottish and English drivers, I am not so sure that the drivers will be going all out to win but rest assured the drivers will be looking to win.

Shevill Snr, Purdie, Alexander, Maxwell, Robertson and Burgoyne are saloon drivers who are not willing to give an inch and whilst they are now a bit older once they get behind the wheel of a saloon the red mist is going to descend especially if there is an English car ahead of them.

To start the meeting there is going to be a bit of nostalgia with an MG Magnette painted in the livery of “Diesel Jock” Robertson being driven around the track by Gordon Brown. Robertson and Brown were but two of the drivers who used this type of car and were doing so until late on in the 70s.

Brown went on to become the first Scottish driver to win the World saloon Championship in 1983 but by that time he was racing an Escort.

There will be an admission fee for the practice meetings with all the proceeds going to the Joan Purdie Cancer Appeal.

The saloons look as if they are heading for another cracking and exciting year with bigger fields than usual and hopefully a few visiting drivers thrown in for good measure.

There is a lot of talk about drivers returning to the scene and we know that James Strath, Derek Duff, Chrissy Mack and Stevie Honeyman are scheduled to reappear. – hopefully at the start to the season. Robin Copland only managed one race last year but he has intimated that he will be in action on a more regular basis.

There is also talk that James and Kevin Letford and Callum McIvor (Inverkeithing) will be joining the saloon ranks and if this indeed the case then there are going to be very healthy saloon fields.

Barry Glen has a brand new Grief built car which attracted a lot of attention at the Motor Show down at Birmingham and there is talk that Stuart Shevill Jnr will have a new car at his disposal.

Amongst those who could be out practicing are Simon Cranson (Cowdenbeath) and Dale Burt (Lochgelly).with their formula IIs whilst Kyle Taylor could well appear from the Newcastle area.