Nicolai Nourollah Elghanayan (born February 27, 1994) is an American sports car driver and graduate of USC School of Architecture. Elghanayan currently races a KTM X-BOW in the Blancpain GT World Challenge America GT4 America class with MarcoPolo Motorsports.
Early career Elghanayan was born in Laguna Beach, California, and began racing with his father, Jeff, who previously raced in IMSA. The two started competing together in the Lotus Cup USA, where Nicolai earned the “Most Improved Driver” award in 2015, then his class championships in 2016 and 2017.
Blancpain GT World Challenge America After three years of competition in Lotus Cup USA, Elghanayan advanced to the Pirelli World Challenge, now the Blancpain GT World Challenge America, at the end of the 2017 season, competing in the TC class. He returned for a partial season in the GTS class, earning one win, three additional podium finishes, and two pole positions. His strongest result weekend of note was the Lime Rock Park double header, where he earned both pole positions, his first win, and an additional podium. It was announced in January 2019 that Elghanayan would run his first full Blancpain GT World Challenge America, running a KTM X-BOW in the GT4 America class with MarcoPolo Motorsports.
Charity work In 2018, Elghanayan and his father Jeff raised $39,000 for the Tahirih Justice Center, a non-profit national organization that provide legal services, policy advocacy, and training and education to protect immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence. The father and son pair auctioned off VIP experiences at race events, raising enough funds to protect seven women from abuse. In January 2019, Elghanayan again auctioned off a VIP race weekend experience raising $21,000 for the Children's Hospital of Orange County, a facility Nicolai once attended as a patient.
Personal life Elghanayan graduated from USC School of Architecture in 2018 and is currently working full-time at an architecture firm when not racing.
Motorsports career results
Lotus Cup USA YearTeamCarClass12345678910111213141516RankPoints 2015 Lotus ExigeTrophyCHWCHWSMM SMM AUSAUSLAGLAGTHUTHUBUTBUTACSACSTHCTHC2nd183 2016 MuellerizedLotus ExigeTrophyWILLWILLBUTBUTLAGLAGTHUTHUSMMSMMSONSONTHCTHC1st 2017 Marco Polo MotorsportsLotus ExigeTrophyAUSAUSCHWCHWACSACSSONSONBUTBUTBUTBUT1st
Pirelli World Challenge (Blancpain GT America) YearTeamCarClassChampionship123456789101112131415161718RankPoints2017MuellerizedLotus ExigeTCVIRVIRMOSMOSLRPLRPUMCUMCAUSAUSLAGLAG2018Marco Polo MotorsportsKTM X-BOWGTSSprint + SprintXSTPSTPAUSAUSVIRVIRMOSMOSLRPLRPRAMRAMPORPORUMCUMCWGIWGI22nd802019Marco Polo MotorsportsKTM X-BOWGTSSprint STPSTPLBGPVIRVIRMOSMOSSONSONWGIWGIRAMRAMLASLAS
KTM X-BOW Battle YearRaceTeamCarClassR1 Position R2 Position2018GT4 Sprint, Misano, Italy Razoon-More Than RacingKTM X-BOWSPXRET2
24H Series YearRaceTeamCarClassDriversOverall Position Position in Class2019Dubai 24 HourReiter EngineeringKTM X-BOWSPXAdam Galas (AM)Jan Krabec (AM)Nicolai Elghanayan (SEMI PRO)Benjamin Mazatis (SEMI PRO)Mech.Mech.
2018 GT4 Central European Cup YearRaceTeamCarClassDrivers Overall Position Class Position2018 Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands True Racing – Reiter Engineering #23 KTM X-BOW GT4Pro/Am Sergej Pavlovec David Klar Laura Kraihamer Mads Siljehaug Nicolai ElghanayanRETRET
References