Half an hour southeast of Tbilisi, on the flat plain before Rustavi, sits a full racing circuit. Pit lane, timing tower, grandstands, a karting track next door. On a quiet weekday you can arrive in your own car, pay 50 GEL, and drive three laps of the same tarmac that once opened an international touring car season.
Almost nobody who visits Georgia knows it exists. Itineraries cover the mountains and the wine country; a lap time never makes the list. The reason is plain: in English, almost nothing useful has been written about the place. Search for it and you get the track's own site, ticket aggregators and a few directory stubs.
This guide puts everything in one place: what the track is, the published prices, the drift championship, karting, how to get there without a car, and the question we hear as a rental company more than any other: can a rental car go on track. That one gets the honest answer, near the end.
Quick answer
Rustavi International Motorpark is a modern racing circuit about 30 minutes from Tbilisi, rebuilt on the site of the Soviet-era Rustavi Autodrome and reopened in 2012. Driving your own car costs from 50 GEL for three laps, a ride in a race car with an instructor starts at 150 GEL, karting starts at 25 GEL, and the Georgian Drift Championship runs here. Current rates are published at rim.ge/prices. Planning the wider trip? Start with rent a car or hire a driver in Georgia and owning vs renting a luxury car in Georgia.
What is Rustavi International Motorpark?
The original Rustavi Autodrome was built in the Soviet years and spent the 1990s doing what most Soviet sports infrastructure did: decaying. In 2012 the site was rebuilt from the ground up and reopened as Rustavi International Motorpark, with modern barriers, pit facilities and timing systems. Locals shorten it to RIM.
The rebuild passed its public exam in April 2017, when the circuit hosted the season opener of the TCR International Series, a global touring car championship. The paddock's reaction survives on X. Series journalist Andrew Abbott walked the venue two days before the race and reported he had "finished scoping out the Rustavi International Motorpark. Some good viewing areas for the spectators" (@TCNAndrew). Honda's account marked debutant Attila Tassi finishing "P2 in 2017 TCR Series at Rustavi International Motorpark, Tbilisi" (@hondaisme). Race 1 that weekend went to Davit Kajaia, a Georgian, his first TCR International win, in front of a home crowd.
Motorsport media had already given the place its nickname:
"Georgia's temple of #motorsport - #Rustavi International Motorpark"
@SnapLapNews on X
A visitor that same season put it more plainly:
"Just turned up to Rustavi International Motorpark. It's brilliant. Time trial laps of the track. Races around the car park & go karts."
@charliesaidthat on X, October 2017
The story did not stop in 2017. In March 2026, EuroNASCAR posted that "Kolkhi GRT completes historic test at Rustavi International Motorpark". Davit Kajaia, the same driver who won here in 2017, and Mariam Davitidze drove the NASCAR-spec cars, and the NASCAR Euro Series president visited the venue. Precision matters here: this was a test, and it shows working ties between the series and the circuit. No race in Georgia has been announced. But a venue where NASCAR-spec machinery shakes down in 2026 is a venue being kept alive and current.
How much does driving the track cost?
Every figure below comes from the track's published price list at rim.ge/prices, checked in July 2026. Prices change; treat that page as the source of record.
The core format is simple: bring your own car, pay for laps or time.
| Own car, main track | Price |
|---|---|
| 3 laps | 50 GEL |
| Each additional lap | 10 GEL |
| 20 minutes | 100 GEL |
| 1 hour | 250 GEL |
| 2 hours | 380 GEL |
| Own motorbike, 3 laps | 35 GEL |
| Helmet rental, per day | 50 GEL |
| Racing overalls, per day | 100 GEL |
| Lap timer with laptop, per day | 50 GEL |
Fifty lari puts your own car on a real racing circuit. No English guidebook prints that number; the track's own site does.
The normal traffic here is ordinary fast cars, not race cars: see this onboard lap of RIM in a Nissan 370Z posted to r/CarTrackDays. Nobody will look twice at a stock sports car.
No car with you, or none you want to work that hard? The track runs its own machines in 10-minute sessions:
| Race car experience, 10 minutes | Price | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Mit Jet | 600 GEL | 1,300 GEL or $500 |
| Formula Alfa, you drive | 500 GEL | 1,300 GEL or $500 |
| Legend car | 400 GEL | 1,300 GEL or $500 |
| Formula Alfa taxi, instructor drives | 150 GEL | no deposit |
The deposit rule matters. The three self-drive formats each hold 1,300 GEL (or 500 dollars) against damage. The taxi format, where the instructor drives and you ride, holds nothing and costs 150 GEL. If you want the sensation before you commit money to the risk, the taxi lap is the entry point.
Groups can take the whole place. The full main track rents at 1,500 GEL per hour or 10,000 GEL per day on workdays, and 3,000 GEL per hour or 20,000 GEL per day on Fridays and weekends. A shorter start-finish configuration runs 900 GEL per hour or 6,000 GEL per day on workdays. Do the math on a workday hour split four ways: 375 GEL each for a private racing circuit. That is dinner-for-two money in Tbilisi's better restaurants.
Is there a real drift scene in Georgia?
There is, and it runs on a calendar. The Georgian Drift Championship is held at Rustavi: the 2026 season was listed on tkt.ge as five stages, with a season pass at 65 GEL, gates opening at 11:00, racing from 14:00, and children under 10 free. Seasons roll over, so check the tkt.ge page for current stage dates before planning a weekend around one.
The street version exists too, and Tbilisi has run out of patience with it. When a video of illegal drifting in the city was posted to r/tbilisi, the thread filled with hostility toward the drivers; the top comment simply pointed the poster to a subreddit that celebrates police turning up at exactly the right moment. The residents' position is easy to understand. It also changes nothing about the fix: the legal version costs 50 GEL and sits 30 minutes away, with barriers and run-off instead of parked cars and pedestrians.
If you want to slide rather than watch, the RIM Academy drift course is covered below.
Karting and the RIM Academy
The karting track next to the main circuit is the lowest-commitment way in. Sessions run 10 minutes: 35 GEL for adults in a company kart, 25 GEL for kids, 50 GEL for a two-seater. The entire karting track rents for 750 GEL per hour or 5,000 GEL per day on workdays, which is how a birthday party ends up with a private circuit.
For structured training, the RIM Academy runs courses of five to six sessions:
| RIM Academy course, 5-6 sessions | Own car | Company car |
|---|---|---|
| Novice | 700 GEL | 1,100 GEL |
| Defensive driving | 900 GEL | 1,300 GEL |
| Time attack | 1,600 GEL | 2,300 GEL |
| Drift | 1,800 GEL | 2,800 GEL |
The drift course is the honest route into the scene: 1,800 GEL over five to six sessions with your own car, or 2,800 GEL in the school's car, on a closed course, with instruction. Compare that with the cost of one street incident and the math ends quickly.
How do you get there from Tbilisi?
By car it is roughly 30 minutes southeast on the Tbilisi-Rustavi highway. If you are renting, AutoHub delivers cars anywhere in Tbilisi within 30 minutes, so starting the trip from your hotel door is realistic.
Without a car, two options come straight from locals on r/tbilisi. Ride-hailing works between the cities: u/Onstanner_77 confirms that Bolt operates between Tbilisi and Rustavi. On a budget, u/DrNotStrange_ suggests bus #2 from Isani metro station to Rustavi, then a short taxi hop to the track itself.
There is a third option most people forget: hire a car with a driver for the day, watch the racing, and let someone else handle the highway back. And if your Georgia route continues into the mountains afterward, read the winter tire rules and fines before you point any car at Gudauri.
Can you take a rental car on the track?
This is the question a car rental company gets asked, so it deserves a straight answer.
At any rental operator, anywhere, this is a contract and insurance question before it is a driving question. Standard rental insurance is written for public roads. The moment a car enters a closed course, coverage typically stops unless the contract explicitly says otherwise, and damage on track becomes your bill. Track incidents are not a scare story: a GT4 car was crashed at a Rustavi trackday in 2017, documented by @NikasAutoBlog. Circuit walls forgive less than hedges on a country road.
At AutoHub the rule is simple: ask the concierge first, before you book. The concierge answers within 15 minutes. Often the workable format is a delivered car for the road trip plus the track's own race cars for the fast laps, since those come with a defined 1,300 GEL deposit instead of an open-ended repair bill. The cars people dream about for this, the Porsche 911 Turbo S, the Ferrari 296 GTB, the Corvette C8, the BMW M8 Competition, go on track only after that conversation, with the terms in writing. Anyone who promises otherwise, at any rental company, has not read their own insurance policy.
Frequently asked
How much does a track day at Rustavi cost? With your own car: 50 GEL for three laps, 100 GEL for 20 minutes, 250 GEL for an hour, 380 GEL for two hours, per rim.ge/prices. A helmet rents for 50 GEL a day and racing overalls for 100 GEL a day.
Can I drive my own car on the track? Yes, that is the standard format. Own cars run from 50 GEL for three laps, plus 10 GEL per extra lap. Your own motorbike runs 35 GEL for three laps.
Can I drive a real race car there? Yes, in 10-minute sessions: Legend car 400 GEL, Formula Alfa 500 GEL, Mit Jet 600 GEL, each against a 1,300 GEL (or $500) deposit. The Formula Alfa taxi, with an instructor driving, costs 150 GEL with no deposit.
How do I get to Rustavi Motorpark from Tbilisi without a car? Bolt operates between Tbilisi and Rustavi (local confirmation), or take bus #2 from Isani metro and a short taxi from Rustavi (route tip).
Is there drifting in Tbilisi? On the streets, yes, and residents post about it with open hostility (r/tbilisi). The legal scene is at Rustavi: the Georgian Drift Championship, plus the RIM Academy drift course from 1,800 GEL.
Where are car meets in Tbilisi? The question comes up on r/tbilisi regularly; meets move around and spread by word of mouth. The one fixed, public calendar of car culture in Georgia is the event list at the Rustavi track.
What do drift championship tickets cost? The 2026 season pass was 65 GEL on tkt.ge for five stages, children under 10 free, gates at 11:00, racing from 14:00. Check the page for the current season.
Can a rental car go on the track? Only with the operator's explicit, written agreement; standard insurance excludes circuit use. At AutoHub, message the concierge before you book and get the terms confirmed.
Worth the detour
A working racing circuit with a public price list, half an hour from the capital, is a rare thing anywhere between Istanbul and Baku. Rustavi has one, and it costs less to try than most people assume.
If cars are part of your Georgia plan, request one from AutoHub: WhatsApp or Telegram at +995 557 437 034, or concierge@autohub.ge. All-inclusive rates, delivery in Tbilisi within 30 minutes, and a concierge who gives straight answers, including about the track.
