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Kajaia: the driver
who aims at putting
Georgia on the map
Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver Davit Kajaia might
be one of the newest faces in the 2016 TCR
International Series but he is quite a figure in his
home country, Georgia. Not only he has
dominated the motorsports scene there in recent
years, but he is now the highest-profile
ambassador of Georgia’s motor racing at
international level. A role that does not scare him:
as a police officer in his daily life, Captain Kajaia
is used to serving his country!
“I was fascinated by motorsport since I was a child
and started to race at the age of 15,” says the 32-
year-old from Tbilisi, “Motorsport is getting more
and more popular and organized in Georgia and
it’s great to be able to compete in a top
international series such as TCR.”
The man certainly comes to the TCR series with a
rich and diverse experience under his belt, having
raced in single-seater formulae and Touring Car
series but also rallies, hillclimbs and slaloms, and
having won a wealth of national titles. His
international experience started in 2012 in the
Legends European Cup, where he collected three
consecutive titles, before winning the TC2T class
in the ETCC last year with a BMW 320 TC.
“The TCR will be a big step forward in my career,”
he admits, “It is not going to be easy, because the
VW Golf is still a pretty new car and I don’t know
most of the circuits, but I’ll go for it. My objective
is to try to reach the top-five and the ultimate
dream would be to be able to race with an
international series at home in front of the
Georgian fans!”
The latter prospect may not be that far from
reality. In Bahrain, Davit was accompanied by a
delegation of the MIA Force, the sports club of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs. This club is very
active in supporting promising Georgian sportsmen
in all disciplines and is the force behind Kajaia’s
TCR programme. The Deputy Minister of Internal
Affairs, David Vardiashvili, was present together
with David Nikoleishvili, Director of the Ministry’s
Service Agency, and Pavle Jugheli, from MIA Force.
They explained: “There is a great interest for
bringing a top international series such as the TCR
to Georgia. That would be a wonderful
opportunity to showcase our country, and we hope
to be able to soon start working on a project.”
Davit Kajaia impressed on his TCR maiden appearance