Building on a solid foundation is Aiden Moffat’s aim for the forthcoming campaign, following a maiden BTCC podium in what was a positive second season for the Laser Tools Racing man.

The Scotsman notched an impressive Independent win at Knockhill – a mark of his and Laser Tools’ progress in the Championship since their 2014 debut. Moffat expects further progress for 2016, with preparation already well underway, and ahead of where the outfit were at this time last year.

“It feels like it’s already the start of the season for us. After the Autosport Show you really start to try and get your testing underway for the year. This year it’s quite good for us – everything’s wrapped up quite early and we’re not having to worry about changing car.

“With Laser on-board with us, everything’s tied up and we can focus on testing. We’re in a good position this year and I’m always getting more and more experience in the car and of the tracks. The only way is up for us just now and I think it’ll be a good year.

“Last season we got got an Independent win and a third position whereas the season before, if I got a top 20 then I was over the moon. So that change in one year is brilliant for us. I’ve always believed in myself and the team’s believed in me. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t make such an effort because they’re all friends and family.

“It’s nice the process of stepping up the ladder has been a bit quicker than it could have been and we’re already starting to get to grips with the touring cars. It’s very promising the progress we’ve made in a year and hopefully we can try and get a bit closer to a couple more podiums.”

Moffat will have the added expertise of engineer Charles Hodge in his garage for the season ahead, having shared race engineer Paul Ridgeway with stable-mate Adam Morgan up to now. With the pairing’s preferred setups varying so drastically, Moffat hopes the addition of Hodge to Laser Tools Racing will benefit both his and the team’s 2016.

“We’ve got Charles Hodge on-board this year. Last year we had Paul Ridgeway between me and Adam. He’s an amazing engineer to have in your team. The only problem was it’s two drivers sharing an engineer and Adam likes a stable car, I like one where the rear end is a bit loose. The mechanics had half an hour to try and do two completely different setups. We’ll still work really closely together; it’s just now we’ve got our own people to report to.

“It’s a hard championship but we’re always improving. This year, we’re going to try and get a more thorough pre-season plan together which we’ve lacked in previous years and hopefully we’ll hit the ground running.”