Jason Plato assessing his options for 2015 season

Championship runner-up Jason Plato says he is assessing several options for 2015, both in the BTCC and outside, but feels the regulations will have to change before he can make a decision.

Plato also expressed his pride for his Triple Eight MG team, as the one-two in race one at Brands Hatch, coupled with a double DNF for Honda Racing Team, gave the squad its first manufacturers’ championship crown.

The BTCC finale was a dramatic one for Plato, as it so often is, with a win in the first race and a win on track in the second, before the stewards belately punished him for the incident with Colin Turkington and stripped him of the latter.

He eventually finished 35 points behind West Surrey Racing’s Turkington in the final standings.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes about his plans for next season, Plato said: “I don’t have anything in place. I’ve got more than four opportunities in the BTCC, and a couple outside.

“I’ll look at everything, and make a decision based on what’s best for my commercial partners. It’s not just about getting in the right car, it’s about providing a platform to continue the great work we’re doing with Tesco, and a whole list of other sponsors.

“Before I get anywhere near that, we need to know what the regulations are. If they don’t change, if I want to stay in the BTCC and be competitive, I’ve got to go rear-wheel drive.

“I don’t know [if anything will change] – I’m not TOCA. You’d have to ask them.”

Assessing his season, Plato added: “From the middle part of last year, we are the best front-wheel drive outfit, we’re the quickest with the best race pace in race one and two.

“We’ve only been beaten by one bloke in a car with an advantage. The only people who’ll say it doesn’t have an advantage are the biased people on that side of the camp.

“I’m proud of Triple Eight. Had that BMW not been there, we would have walked the championship.

“Since the beginning of NGTC, which was the start of my programme with Triple Eight, I’ve won more races than any other driver, had more pole positions, more fastest laps…we’ve done a great job.

“At the end of it, we’ve come away with a manufacturers’ award, which is no mean feat to wrestle it away from Honda.”