PHIL Cooper has done it again on the auto grass circuit.
The 40-year-old driver from Warrington has secured his 29th British autograss series title, this time competing in the super saloon class. He sealed the championship with a maximum score in the final round near Hereford.
Cooper, based in Burtonwood, works as a maintenance team leader at United Utilities and previously spent 18 years with Unilever in their engineering team. He began racing at just six years old, starting in motocross before transitioning to cars at age 12.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have some success over the years,” Cooper said. “I won the junior national and British championships in 2000, and since then I’ve added 12 national championships and 29 British titles to my record. The latest came at the final round of the 2025 season, run by the Border Counties Autograss Club near Leominster, Herefordshire, where 550 drivers competed.”
This season, Cooper competed in Class 7 – the ‘super saloon’ category, which allows almost unlimited modifications. “Any engine, any vehicle class,” he explained. “You can experiment with engine and body combinations—even two engines if you want. Any saloon, hatchback, or pickup body shell can be used to create a rear-wheel-drive car. With the size of the engines and the modifications allowed, this is the most powerful saloon class in the sport.”
The class is renowned for its exciting, sideways racing, and a variety of body shells are used, including Minis, Mini Pickups, and Fiat Cinquecento models, with classic shapes making a comeback.
Cooper drove a Mini Pickup with a 6.2-litre V8 Chevy engine, weighing just 630kg and producing over 520bhp—giving an incredible power-to-weight ratio of 825.4 BHP per tonne. “It’s wild to drive,” he said. “With so much weight over the rear wheels, it constantly tries to wheelie when it finds grip.”
This season was one of his toughest yet. “The fight went to the final race, and the championship is decided based on your best 16 scores from 20 races. Going into the final race, I had 15 wins and a second place counting towards my score—but I needed 16 wins to clinch the title. The competition was fierce. As a team, we worked hard and executed perfectly, making this one of my proudest title wins ever.”
Racing runs in the Cooper family. His parents raced before he was born, and now his wife and children are part of the sport. “Lisa, my wife, races too, and our two daughters, Ellie, 5, and Grace, 10, may race in the future if they wish. We attend all events together, and the kids help with the car between races,” he said.
After the final race, Cooper shared a special moment with his daughters. “They ran to me and gave me a big hug—it’s enough to keep anyone going, even after the toughest, muddiest weekends. The plan now is to defend the British championship. We’ve started stripping the car to make improvements for next season, and hopefully, we can do it all again.”