Aussie racer-turned adult content creator Renee Gracie has confirmed she has sealed a deal to return to motorsport.
Placed 14th in the 2016 Bathurst 1000 amongst her six years of racing in Aussie Racing Cars, Porsche Carrera Cup and V8 Supercars, Gracie has plotted a return to motorsport for several years, and it is now finally about to come true.
The 28-year-old has announced she will be back behind the wheel in the GT World Challenge Australia series.
It is a major starting point for Gracie as she continues to declare a desire to return to race in the Bathurst 1000 in coming years.
Gracie has not competed in Australia’s greatest motor race since 2016, and V8s since 2017, and gave up her motorsport dream completely several years ago as her career took a wild turn towards the more lucrative world of adult entertainment.
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The switch to joining adult subscription website OnlyFans paid off for Gracie. She claimed to have earned more than $500,000 in one month in 2020.
Gracie, who retired from the sport at the end of 2017 due to a lack of funding, will now be using her earnings from her adult website to fund a racing team.
She hinted that she had big plans for a return to racing last month when it was announced she will feature as the star of a new documentary that will chart her comeback to motorsport.
Now, it’s on. After missing last weekend’s Bathurst 6 Hour production car event, Gracie will be on the grid for the Perth Supersprint, beginning April 28.
“I started planning a return to the sport in 2021, which is when I started getting serious, talking to people and discovering what was possible,” Gracie told the GT World Challenge Australia website.
“The first indication was that there were challenges to find the support within the industry to make it work, so we took our time to plan and get the ideal program together.
“I was very strategic with who I worked with and who I wanted to deal with on my comeback.
“Some opportunities that presented were right and some were wrong, but the stars have aligned to pull all this together.
“Everything has worked and fallen into place and I’m really happy with everyone I am working with and who has been part of this journey.
“It was proof to me that yes, this was the time to get back into racing.”
She said the category, which features Mercedes, Porsche, Audi and BMW entries, is also a stepping stone towards competing in international motorsport series.
She said it has been hard work to pursue a return to racing, saying some motorsport officials have frowned at her ambitions.
“Ultimately it shouldn’t matter who you are or what you do,” she said.
“If you want to achieve something and you set your mind to doing it, you should be able to achieve that.
“It’s taken two years to get to this point with some people frowning on what I wanted to do and trying to stop me or discourage me, but the fact we have got to this point shows that it doesn’t matter – and it shouldn’t matter.
“This announcement is the proof of that.”
It’s not the first time after leaving the sport that Gracie has attempted to return and drive in the great race.
In 2021 she revealed plans to spend $1 million to make a comeback by buying her own team, all part of a plan to race at Bathurst.
Gracie said she walked away from racing without a cent to her name after quitting the Carrera Cup and Super2 in 2017.
Once nicknamed the Devil Princess, the native Queenslander began driving as a teenager and had dreams of racing in a US NASCAR championship.
Those dreams are still alive.
