Jason Plato wants to return to the British Touring Car Championship this year, but admits that the budget is not yet in place to allow him to do so.
The 2001 title winner secured a deal with the RML-run Racing Silverline Chevrolet squad on the eve of the 2009 season-opener and went on to finish second in the standings – just five points behind champion Colin Turkington.
Asked at the AUTOSPORT International show if he would be back in the BTCC in 2010, Plato replied: "I hope so. I genuinely believe the BTCC is a fantastic championship and I love being part of it. If I can pull together a deal to make it happen, I'd like to think chances of staying where I am now are very high. Nevertheless, the cold hard facts are that the right numbers need to be in the right boxes.
"2009 was probably one of most enjoyable and rewarding seasons I've ever done. We were underdogs, there was no manufacturer pressure."
Plato admitted that the team had to be realistic about its financial situation. "I love to go racing, but I've got bills to pay the same as anyone else," he said. "The team has to operate on a proper budget, we made it happen this year but we can't always do it like that. It has to make sense. It's tough to make the numbers add up, but we'll always try."