- Mesmerising wheel-to-wheel racing on a damp second day at Thruxton’s historic Easter Revival - Super Touring hero Patrick Watts revels in the conditions for popular triumph - Callum Grant, Mark Charteris and Benn Simms join the weekend’s multiple winners’ club

Rain failed to dampen spirits or dilute the atmosphere on the second day of the HSCC-organised Thruxton Easter Revival, as outstanding on-track action, worthy winners and riveting racing kept the hardy spectators entertained from lights-out to chequered flag and sent them home with smiles on their faces.On a sodden track, Callum Grant doubled up on his Saturday success in Historic Formula Junior, dominating proceedings once again behind the wheel of his Merlyn Mk5/7. The real action took place behind, however, as former British Champion Christopher Drake in an Elva 300 and Steve Jones in a Cooper T67 fought over the runner-up laurels.They were joined later in the race by pit-lane starter Andrew Hibberd, who had gone off on gearbox oil in the previous day’s encounter whilst holding a commanding lead. The Lotus 22 relieved Jones of third at the chicane and looked set to similarly deprive Drake of second until a final lap spin relegated Hibberd to fourth and safeguarded Drake and Jones’ podium spots.Mark Charteris was just as impressive in the second Derek Bell Trophy outing of the weekend, coming home almost 40 seconds clear of runner-up Neil Fowler in his March 782 to claim a famous victory for the front-engined Mallock Mk20/21 Clubman. Indeed, Charteris had lapped everybody bar Fowler by the chequered flag, with the latter lifting the coveted Jochen Rindt Trophy for being the weekend’s best Formula 2 performer.Meanwhile, a titanic scrap was being staged for third place, as John Harrison’s Mallock Mk21 overhauled Jon Finch’s Chevron B34, with a charging Gregory Thornton scything his way through from the back of the pack into fifth spot in his powerful ex-Peter Gethin Chevron B24, very nearly pipping Finch to fourth in a drag race to the line.“I just love this little car!” enthused Charteris, who had diced energetically with Neil Glover’s fearsome Formula 5000 Lola T330/332 on Saturday. “My 15-year-old son James has helped me all weekend, and 185bhp is perfect for this kind of weather.“We completely rebuilt the car over the winter, and I want to thank my wife who put up with all my late nights in the garage. I cannot believe it. I’m over-the-moon. Thruxton is a wonderful circuit and lends itself to this car just perfectly. What a fabulous weekend.”The second Super Touring Car Championship race of the weekend was like stepping straight back into the 1990s, as Saturday winner John Cleland and runner-up Patrick Watts shared the front row of the starting grid. Cleland led away in his 1997 Vauxhall Vectra, with Watts’ 1998 Peugeot 406 and Simon Garrad’s 1999 Williams-Renault Laguna in hot pursuit in a three-way tussle for supremacy.With Garrad snapping at Watts’ heels, Cleland initially edged clear, but as the Peugeot increasingly found the grip around the damp track, Watts snatched the lead and Garrad wasted little time in following through into second. With Cleland slipping back to a distant third at the flag, Watts – revelling in the tricky conditions – set a new fastest lap to assert his advantage and gradually eked away to a popular triumph.“I think I’ve just made history!” quipped the former historic rallying champion. “I must be the first Peugeot driver in touring cars ever to have a Williams-Renault in his mirrors – other than when being lapped! Rain is always a great equaliser, and in the wet, the sophistication of the chassis and extra few horsepower go out-of-the-window. It was a lot of fun!”Benn Sims in his Jomo JMR 7 avenged his Saturday defeat by Tiff Needell’s Lotus 69 in the Historic Formula Ford race, with the pair again engaging in a frenetic, breathless cat-and-mouse duel as the sun briefly re-emerged.Running wheel-to-wheel and exchanging positions with boyish enthusiasm, both survived a scare when backmarker Gary McVeigh spun his Merlyn Mk11A directly in front of them to take the chequered flag less than three seconds apart. Michael O’Brien replicated his Saturday third place in his Merlyn Mk20.The Historic Touring Cars outing once more pitched Ford Mustangs against Lotus Cortinas and Hillman Imps, but ultimately, it was Saturday podium-finisher Sean McInerney who saw them all off in his BMW 1800Ti to take a comfortable victory ahead of the duelling Roger Godfrey in his Austin Cooper S and Tim Davies’ Cortina.The Historic Road Sports was a race of two halves, after darkening skies and a torrential downpour brought out the red flags. Upon its resumption, Robin Pearce flew into an immediate lead in his Morgan Plus 8 as Larry Kennedy’s Lotus Elan S4 tore through the starting grid from the fifth row to second position.A huge spin at Goodwood subsequently sent Kennedy plummeting back down the order and enabled Pearce to make good his escape, but the former was quick to regain second place – until another spin later in the race promoted Ben Adams’ Turner MkII and Andy Shepherd’s Lotus Seven S2 into podium contention. Pearce remained in a league of his own to the flag, with fastest lap for Adams on the final tour just staving off Shepherd’s assault on the runner-up spoils.Due to the rain-enforced delay, the Classic Formula 3 and Classic Racing Cars were amalgamated into one race on separate grids. As in qualifying, Richard Trott’s Chevron B43 narrowly saw off David Shaw’s Ralt RT1 for the Formula 3 laurels, with third-placed Marcus Mussa in his March 763 more than a minute in arrears. Michael O’Brien added to his weekend silverware with Classic Racing Cars glory in his Merlyn Mk20, ahead of Jonathan Baines’ similar car.Benn Simms claimed his second victory of the day as he shone through the plumes of spray in Historic Formula Ford 2000, with his Reynard SF77 sprinting away to win from Andrew Park’s Reynard SF81 and Colin Wright’s Reynard’s SF79.The final race was for Classic Clubmans, which witnessed a sparkling showdown between Ray Mallock’s Mallock Mk18b and the Mallock Mk20/21 of pole-sitter Mark Charteris. The pair went at it hammer-and-tongs throughout, as Charteris stalked Mallock before stealing the lead and retaining it to the flag. Mallock held on for second, with John Harrison recovering from an early spin at the Complex to finish third in his Mallock Mk21.Provisional Race Results for SundayHistoric Formula Junior1) Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk5/7): 12 Laps2) Christopher Drake (Elva 300): +32.8753) Steve Jones (Cooper T67): +36.366Derek Bell Trophy1) Mark Charteris (Mallock Mk20/21): 15 Laps2) Neil Fowler (March 782): +39.5433) John Harrison (Mallock Mk21): +1 LapSuper Touring Car Championship1) Patrick Watts (Peugeot 406): 14 Laps2) Simon Garrad (Williams-Renault Laguna): +2.0073) John Cleland (Vauxhall Vectra): +19.624Historic Formula Ford1) Benn Sims (Jomo JMR 7): 13 Laps2) Tiff Needell (Lotus 69): +2.7783) Michael O’Brien (Merlyn Mk20): +38.131Historic Touring Cars1) Sean McInerney (BMW 1800Ti): 12 Laps2) Roger Godfrey (Austin Cooper S): +34.8193) Tim Davies (Ford Lotus Cortina): +36.207Historic Road Sports1) Robin Pearce (Morgan Plus 8): 8 Laps2) Ben Adams (Turner MkII): +18.9083) Andy Shepherd (Lotus Seven S2): +19.503Classic Formula 3 / Classic Racing Cars Combined1) Richard Trott (Chevron B43): 8 Laps2) David Shaw (Ralt RT1): +0.8933) Marcus Mussa (March 763): +1:07.132Historic Formula Ford 20001) Benn Simms (Reynard SF77): 8 Laps2) Andrew Park (Reynard SF81): +21.9793) Colin Wright (Reynard SF79): +25.229Classic Clubmans1) Mark Charteris (Mallock Mk20/21): 10 Laps2) Ray Mallock (Mallock Mk18b): +11.8823) John Harrison (Mallock Mk21): +45.841