Davit Kajaia expressed his happiness of becoming the overall Challenger Trophy winner in his first NASCAR Euro Series campaign.
When NASCAR Euro Series returned to Circuit Zolder for the 2025 EuroNASCAR Finals, one driver found himself with insurmountable odds to win their special classification.
That driver is Davit Kajaia, the EuroNASCAR PRO driver for Team Georgia – one of NASCAR Euro’s most colorful entries in recent years.
Kajaia entered the Zolder finale with a mathematical chance of winning the Challenger Trophy. He was second in the Trophy’s classification behind Claudio Remigio Cappelli, but there’s a 42 points gap separating the 41-year old from his Italian rival.
Kajaia needed a miracle to be able to overcome his deficit to Cappelli. In the end, he was able to create his own miracle, successfully winning the overall Challenger Trophy classification after tying Cappelli in points.
Coincidentally, both Cappelli and Kajaia were also tied with three Challenger Trophy wins. Cappelli finished higher in the standings by virtue of a better best place finish, but Kajaia’s seventh place finish in the finale sealed the Challenger Trophy in favor of the Georgian.
It was a culmination of a long and rough journey to Kajaia, who had already made history as the first Georgian drivers to race in EuroNASCAR alongside his teammate Sandro Tavartkiladze.
“We did it!” said Kajaia on his Challenger Trophy triumph. “This season was full of challenges and new experiences. Me and my teammate [Tavartkiladze] entered EuroNASCAR as newcomers, and what a journey it has been!”
“I must say, NASCAR felt like a whole new world given my background in different racing series from Legends Cars to Ferrari Challenge.”
“The weekends were far from easy. My car faced serious technical issues more than once, and at some point, I even thought about giving up. But my team and sponsors never stopped fighting, they did an incredible job!
“On top of that, I was completely unfamiliar with some of the circuits, which made the season unpredictable but even more exciting.”
Fittingly, Kajaia’s triumph in Zolder was overseen by the team that gave him his first break in the sport: Marko Stipp Motorsport.
Kajaia – and Tavartkiladze – started the 2025 season in Valencia with Marko Stipp Motorsport’s No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro. However, both parties then mutually agreed to part ways shortly after the season opener.
With the backing of their sponsors Georgian Automobile Sport Federation (GASF), Kajaia and Tavartkiladze formed Team Georgia to continue their full-season campaign, entering a partnership with RDV Competition in the process.
Then a week before the Zolder finale, an unexpected twist occurred. MSM and Team Georgia agree to renew their partnership for the Finals.
Under this renewed deal, Kajaia and Tavartkiladze continued to race for Team Georgia, but their No. 9 GASF Camaro was now serviced by Marko Stipp and his talented crew of people.
This reunion immediately struck gold. Not only did Kajaia win the Challenger Trophy, he also scored two seventh place finishes. It was Kajaia’s career-best finishes in EuroNASCAR PRO, and he fought race winners such as Marc Goossens and Paul Jouffreau to achieve this feat.
Furthermore, Kajaia’s results – combined with Tavartkiladze’s own solid ride in EuroNASCAR OPEN – contributed to Team Georgia-MSM partnership’s victory in the Endurance Teams classifications.
The No. 9 team finished ahead of 2025 Teams champion Team Bleekemolen and fellow debutants Alumitec Racing in the finale.
It was a perfect finale for Kajaia, who is working hard to ensure that he and Team Georgia will be back on the grid to defend the Challenger Trophy crown in 2026.
“I had no idea about the final standings until the podium announcement,” said Kajaia on when he realized he had won the Challenger Trophy. “Hearing my name as the European Champion was simply a joy.”
“I want to say a huge thank you to the organizers for the great atmosphere, to my technical team, season co-racers, my sponsor Georgian Automobile Sport Federation, and of course, to all my amazing supporters.”
“They all helped make NASCAR popular in Georgia. I hope to see you again next season in EuroNASCAR!”
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.