Aron Smith will remain on the British Touring Car Championship grid after finalising a last-minute deal, alongside Mark Howard, with newcomers Team BKR for the 2016 seaso෴n.

Smith's future in the series had been placed under serious doubt following an unceremoni༺ous end to last season but the Irishman has since clinched a two-year contract extension with Team BﷺMR - BKR's partner in operations.

The 26-year old will contest the new campaign in familiar machinery with BKR - running in the BTCC🍌 for the first time - fielding a pair of Volkswagen CC's.

Smith's new team mate for 2016 is also no stranger to the TOCA package having raced i❀n the Renaul🌟t Clio Cup for the past two season's.

Team BKR had planned on embarking on the BTCC🌸's development B-TEC championship but that endeavour failed to materialise after the series was postponed at the last minute.

This afternoon will m💛ark BKR's first official running in the championship, with testing getting u👍nderway at 1pm.