The British Touring Car Championship returns this weekend and Airwaves Racing will be back on the grid and looking to build on their recent success.

Aron Smith is looking forward to heading out on track at Knockhill and trying to replicate his performance last time out at Snetterton.

He finished in sixth place in race one, third place in races two and three and Aron is excited to see whether he can do the same this weekend.

Speaking to Kent Sports News exclusively about the last time Airwaves were racing and ahead to this weekend, Aron was in high spirits.

He said: “It was definitely my best weekend of the season and it was great to get back to the front and it has been the coming together of the developing of the car we have been doing this season.

“It was great to see the Airwaves car back up at the front and to be honest it is where they belong, it all clicked and aligned last time out at Snetterton and the car was infinitely better than it had been this season.”

Qualifying could have been slightly better for Smith had he not found himself in the wall, he could easily have been higher up the grid.

He added: “I think it is fair to say that I would have been as that lap was actually my first flying lap, and you normally do eight or nine flying laps in a session.

“You generally get quicker as the qualifying session goes on, you get a bit more comfortable and tuned into the track. It was a shame that it ended prematurely for us, I didn’t really expect to end up sixth having done just one flying lap. When I came out of the medical centre I was delighted when they told me I was starting in P6.”

The team put the car back together and Aron was ready to go and score his best results of the season on the Sunday.

He said: “Everyone in Airwaves had a tough job and were working close to midnight on the Saturday putting the car back to being perfect. When I arrived on Sunday morning it was as though nothing had even happened.

“It is testament to everyone at Airwaves that the car was put back together so well, because straight away it was on the pace. Race one to finish top six was right on where we wanted to be, we always aim for a top six, as a solid race one sets you up for the rest of the weekend.

“It was just a case of getting back into it and making sure that the car was running fine and that meant that we could really crack on in race two and three.”

Those two races yielded two third place finishes for Aron and it also saw him battling with his teammate for these places which was good to see for the team.

“The way that Mat (Jackson) and I work together as a team is really what got us the results in race two and three. When you are racing your teammate you can trust that little bit more that it isn’t going to be fired up the inside of you.

“We are both constantly communicating with our team manager Olly Collins over the radio, about a race strategy as to when we were going to push, this means we can work together to get the best out of our cars.

“To be fair to Mat he really helped me and then in race three I could somewhat help me, so it was a really good team effort to work together and get some positive results for the boys in the team.”

Snetterton was the team’s first podium finishes of the season and Smith was happy to see the team back where he feels they should be week in week out.

He said: “I nearly forgot what champagne tasted like! It was really nice to get back up to the podium, especially after the incident in qualifying as the boys worked so hard in getting the car ready after the crash in qualifying.

“Even in race three it was the first time I had raced to the podium with success ballast in the car from race one and race two. That didn’t upset the balance in the car and was good enough to challenge up the front once again.

“We made some set up changes to the car between races two and three and I think that has kept us up the front in the final race. We have unlocked a little bit more in the car and that is really strong showing for us and is good for us going forward to the next few races.”

The team are back on track this weekend at Knockhill and Smith is hoping that the team can put on another good show for their fans.

He added: “I think we were the strongest point scoring team at Snetterton and that is what we really needed. We have established our base set-up and I am confident enough that it is going to be working for us at all the other tracks going forward.

“It is somewhat of an exciting time for us at the moment at Airwaves, it is going to have some potential success for us. I am confident going to Knockhill as it is where my season came alive last season and I am hoping for more of the same this weekend.

“The car is capable of being at the front everywhere we go and we get on really well with Knockhill track and hopefully that combination will work well for us again this weekend.”