Cleland wants Brit to win title...

Plato currently leads Muller by six points heading into the final double-header round at Brands Hatch this weekend and should he go on to take the championship, he will be the first Brit to win since Cleland in 1995, also with Vauxhall.

"It would be a nice thing for an Englishman to win the championship because the last time it came home to Britain was 1995 and that was by a Scot," Cleland told Autosport's sister title, Motorsport News. "We've got devolution so even that doesn't count any more!"

Cleland believes it would do the series good to have a Brit take the crown after several years of dominance by drivers from overseas, although he admits that the interest from abroad is still a good for the series.

"The BTCC is a British championship and it would be great for the fans and for the championship as a whole to have a British champion," he continued. "It proves how popular the championship is because you have had so many foreign drivers wanting to do their racing in the BTCC. It gives you some idea of the regard it is held in, and to keep the trophy in the UK means a lot."

However, despite Plato's lead of six points, there are 35 on offer over the weekend and Cleland hinted that the Triple Eight-run Vauxhall team could favour Frenchman Muller.

"I would love to see Jason win the title for those reasons," he said. "But I get the feeling that Muller will be the preferred driver."