| Nicolai Elghanayan | |
|---|---|
 Elghanayan in September 2018 | |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | (1994-02-27) February 27, 1994 (age 30) Laguna Beach, California, (USA) |
| Blancpain GT World Challenge America career | |
| Current team | MarcoPolo Motorsports |
| Car number | 71 |
| Starts | 15 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Previous series | |
| 2016 | Lotus Cup USA |
| Championship titles | |
| 2016 2017 | Lotus Cup USA Lotus Cup USA |
Nicolai Nourollah Elghanayan (born February 27, 1994, in Laguna Beach, California) 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 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
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Lotus Exige | Trophy | CHW 3 |
CHW 3 |
SMM 3 |
SMM 2 |
AUS |
AUS |
LAG 3 |
LAG 2 |
THU 1 |
THU 2 |
BUT 1 |
BUT 2 |
ACS |
ACS |
THC |
THC |
2nd | 183 | |
| 2016 | Muellerized | Lotus Exige | Trophy | WILL 5 |
WILL 1 |
BUT 1 |
BUT 1 |
LAG 1 |
LAG 1 |
THU 1 |
THU 1 |
SMM 1 |
SMM 3 |
SON 2 |
SON 1 |
THC 1 |
THC |
1st | |||
| 2017 | Marco Polo Motorsports | Lotus Exige | Trophy | AUS 3 |
AUS 1 |
CHW 2 |
CHW DNS |
ACS 1 |
ACS 1 |
SON 1 |
SON 1 |
BUT 1 |
BUT 1 |
BUT 1 |
BUT 1 |
1st |
Pirelli World Challenge (Blancpain GT America)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | Championship | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Muellerized | Lotus Exige | TC | VIR |
VIR |
MOS |
MOS |
LRP |
LRP |
UMC |
UMC |
AUS |
AUS |
LAG NC |
LAG 13 |
|||||||||
| 2018 | Marco Polo Motorsports | KTM X-BOW | GTS | Sprint + SprintX | STP |
STP |
AUS 10 |
AUS 6 |
VIR |
VIR |
MOS |
MOS |
LRP 1 |
LRP 3 |
RAM 9 |
RAM 13 |
POR NC |
POR 9 |
UMC 12 |
UMC 3 |
WGI 2 |
WGI 5 |
22nd | 80 |
| 2019 | Marco Polo Motorsports | KTM X-BOW | GTS | Sprint | STP DNS |
STP 6 |
LBGP 8 |
VIR 4 |
VIR 5 |
MOS 1 |
MOS 6 |
SON 7 |
SON 7 |
WGI |
WGI |
RAM |
RAM |
LAS |
LAS |
KTM X-BOW Battle
| Year | Race | Team | Car | Class | R1 Position | R2 Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | GT4 Sprint, Misano, Italy |
Razoon-More Than Racing | KTM X-BOW | SPX | RET | 2 |
24H Series
| Year | Race | Team | Car | Class | Drivers | Overall Position | Position in Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dubai 24 Hour | Reiter Engineering | KTM X-BOW | SPX | Adam Galas (AM) Jan Krabec (AM) Nicolai Elghanayan (SEMI PRO) Benjamin Mazatis (SEMI PRO) |
Mech. | Mech. |
2018 GT4 Central European Cup
| Year | Race | Team | Car | Class | Drivers | Overall Position | Class Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands | True Racing – Reiter Engineering | #23 KTM X-BOW GT4 | Pro/Am |  Sergej Pavlovec David Klar Laura Kraihamer Mads Siljehaug Nicolai Elghanayan
|
RET | RET |
References
- "Nicolai Nourollah Elghanayan, Born 02/27/1994 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- "Jeff Elghanayan (USA) - Complete Archive". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ^ "Nicolai Elghanayan Joins MarcoPolo Motorsports Team". Blancpain GT World Challenge America. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- "Pirelli Paddock Pass: Nicolai Elghanayan". SportsCar365. 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- Staff (2019-02-13). "Nicolai Elghanayan Announces 2019 GT4 America Season with MarcoPolo Motorsports". SRO America.
- Dagys, John. "Pirelli GT4 America Elghanayan Using Racing to Fight Gender-Based Violence". SportsCar365.
- Dagys, John. "Elghanayan, MarcoPolo Confirm GT4 Sprint Return". SportsCar365.