New outfit Team BKR will complete the 2016 British Touring Car Championship grid with a pair of Volkswagen CCs for Aron Smith and Mark Howard, taking the field up to the maximum 32 cars.

The team will run the pair of ex-Team BMR machines they had initially intended to campaign in the inaugural BTEC development series, which has now been postponed until 2017.

Irishman Smith returns for a sixth season in the series alongside 51-year-old Howard, who is the reigning Masters class champion in the Renault Clio Cup.

Smith has agreed a two-year extension with Team BMR – partners with the BKR operation.

“I truly feel that I and everyone at BKR can have a remarkable season in the BTCC,” he said.

The announcement, made this morning at the BTCC’s media day launch at Donington Park, means the entry list is once again at capacity.