ALEX KEENS CONFIRMS COOPER TITLE DEFENCE

Alex Keens has confirmed that he will return to the MINI CHALLENGE Trophy for the 2026 season in a bid to defend the title he secured in impressive fashion last year.

Keens will remain with the Graves Motorsport team for what will be his fourth full season in the most competitive one-make series in the UK, having made his debut at the wheel of a Cooper car in the latter stages of the 2022 campaign.

Title success last year came on the back of a season in which Keens was a model of consistency, with just one DNF all season and 19 top ten finishes from the remaining 20 races.

Having inherited two wins in the first half of the season, Keens wrapped up the title at Brands Hatch with a third win of the campaign and heads into the new year seeking to become the second driver in series history to defend the Cooper title.

Shane Stoney is the only other driver to achieve the feat, having won the crown in both 2013 and 2014.

Keens is the second driver to be confirmed as part of the Graves Motorsport line-up alongside Irish MINI Challenge Junior title winner Leo Richardson, and will be one of the most experienced racers on a grid set to feature a large number of series rookies.

“I’m super excited to return the MINI CHALLENGE Trophy as the reigning champion,” he said. “The goal is to obviously to retain the championship and be the first person to win it in consecutive seasons for more than a decade.

“Returning with Graves Motorsport means that I am able to stick with a team that has allowed to me to develop so much as a driver, and I have learned a huge amount from working alongside them in recent years.

“I’m also delighted to confirm Silverlake as my title partner for the new season after a successful weekend working together at Brands Hatch for the final round last season. Their support has been instrumental to be being back on the grid this year and hopefully we can enjoy further success together.”