Davit Kajaia and Kolkhi GRT worked together to secure Kajaia’s successful Challenger Trophy title defense – Three class wins and six further podiums confirmed the Georgian’s second special classification title
- Davit Kajaia defended the Challenger Trophy title in his sophomore season
- Two podiums in the Finals secured the Georgian’s crown as the best elite amateur driver
- Kolkhi GRT set the foundation stones for their future with Kajaia’s Trophy triumph
Davit Kajaia accomplished his goal to defend the Challenger Trophy crown in his sophomore V8GP season. Kajaia answered to the expectations placed by the new wave of fans from his native country of Georgia with a string of top results, culminating with a double class podium finish at the Finals in Belgium to confirm his second Challenger Trophy title. With this result, the 42-year old from Tbilisi also helped to establish his country’s first NASCAR team Kolkhi GRT as a force to be reckoned with for the future.
Establishing a new outfit like Kolkhi GRT is bound to take its time and the opening round in Valencia, Spain was an adjustment period for Kajaia to help Kolkhi GRT to learn and understand the machine and the level of competition that they’re facing. The speed was visible, but mechanical difficulties gave the team an important lesson for the next round in France.
Kolkhi GRT quickly absorbed the experience that they gained in Spain and it was in France where Kajaia’s title push started to come to fruition: He took his new career-best finish of sixth in Round 3 and scored his first Challenger Trophy win of 2026 in Round 4 with an equally impressive eighth place result. A third top-10 finish came in the following round at the UK, securing the Georgian’s second class win. More podiums came in the regular season finale in Czechia before Kajaia took the initiative in the Playoffs.
The Tbilisi native grabbed the overall lead with his third class win at the Semi-Finals in Italy and carried his momentum to the Finals, securing two class runner-up finishes behind Logan Bearden to clinch his second consecutive crown. In the process, Kajaia became the first to win back-to-back Challenger Trophy titles since Henri Tuomaala, who won the 2021 and 2022 crown in similar fashion.
The driver of the #8 Kolkhi GRT amassed a total of three wins and six podiums, bringing his total tally of points up to 363 points after the final checkered flag of the season in Belgium. Kajaia’s lead is untouchable: A chasm of 54 points separated the Georgian from trans-Atlantic racer Brad Ranson, who finished as the overall runner-up.
Trailing the Canadian were two highly talented elite amateurs that did not get the chance to fully compete in the Challenger Trophy battle. Thomas Toffel and Logan Bearden grabbed three and six class wins respectively, but Toffel missed some races in V8GP to focus on his successful overall title conquest in OPEN while Bearden missed the Semi-Finals due to prior obligations in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Bristol. However, the Swiss came knocking on the door of the overall podium in France and Italy, while the American was a regular presence in the overall top-10 battle.
Together with Kajaia, they showed that elite amateurs are capable of fighting with the best of V8GP when given the platform to compete in equal machinery, one that NASCAR Euro Series provides with the 400-horsepower pure racing machines that roared its V8 engines wherever it went.
A difficult Finals prevented Giovanni Cartechini from ending his year on a high note, but the Italian took multiple Trophy podiums in his debut V8GP season and just his second year of racing as a whole. Andre Lortie, Mike Wise, Brenna Schubert, Sven van Laere, Kenko Miura, Michael Bleekemolen, Pim van Riet, Nicolas Maunoir, Alex Caffi, Davide Frulio and Alain Grand completed the stacked 16-driver field in the special classification.
With the foundation stones set for the future, Davit Kajaia and Kolkhi GRT are ready to bring the new wave of support for NASCAR Euro Series to the next level. Kajaia’s triumph has become a major talking point in Georgia and the celebrations can truly start. Will Kajaia try to follow the footsteps of overall V8GP champion Vittorio Ghirelli and Junior Trophy title holder Paul Jouffreau and chase for an unprecedented third consecutive Challenger Trophy crown? It remains to be seen, so stay tuned to our official website and social media for the latest updates from the Georgian racing hero!
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
