SRO, the promoters of the FIA GT Championship, has revealed changes to the Citation Cup for the 2009 season.

The 'race within a race' was launched two years ago to try and increase the number of gentlemen driver in the series – with the increased level of competition having decreased the chances of an amateur driver securing a podium finish.

Now however, the Citation Cup will switch to GT2 for the new season and will be open to cars according to the specifications for 2008 or earlier, with a driver pairing where at least one driver has been classified as a 'bronze' driver by the GT Bureau.

Such drivers are defined as those with little or no single-seater experience and who obtained their first race license over the age of 30. Tyre regulations are the same as for all other cars entered in the FIA GT Championship.

“We saw, in 2008, that the vast majority of GT2 driver pairings were made up of two professional drivers, including many former race-winners from GT1, including the reigning Champion, Thomas Biagi,” Stephane Ratel, chairman of SRO, said. “We hope that the Citation Cup will encourage more of these talented and enthusiastic drivers, who are the backbone of our sport, to take part in the 2009 season.”

The GT2 Citation Cup will run at all rounds of the 2009 FIA GT Championship except for the Total 24 Hours of Spa.