The four-time race winner has finished third in the Independents Trophy class three times in his four seasons in the BTCC, since joining the series as Ginetta GT Supercup champion in 2013.

He was ninth overall in last year's standings, with victories at the Brands Hatch season opener and Thruxton.

"I am getting a bit fed up with third place," said Morgan, who has retained Wix as primary sponsor on the Mercedes.

"The target this season has to be to go into the final rounds at Brands Hatch with a shot at the Independents' crown.

"If we can find a bit of consistency, that will help us in the overall standings as well. I really feel like we are ready to take a step forward.

"We have a great team behind us, with Wix staying on board and my engineer Marco Calovolo with us again in 2017.

"We will be out testing from the end of February, and we have the new wider Dunlop tyres to get used to ahead of the new campaign too.

"It is great that we have all the ingredients together for a strong year ahead."

Ciceley Motorsport will also have a hand in the operation of the Laser Tools Racing Mercedes-Benz A-Class of Aiden Moffat.

Matt James / Autosport