Supercars' frosty response to Renee Gracie's switch to adult industry
Supercars have moved to distance themselves from Renee Gracie after the former driver announced her shock switch to adult entertainment.
Gracie stunned the motorsport world last week when she revealed she’d turned her back on the sport for a career in adult films.
And in response Supercars have turned their back on Gracie.
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In a statement that would appear to rule out any potential return for Gracie to Supercars, the organisation distanced themselves from the history-making driver.
“Supercars is aware of the article regarding former Super2 driver Renee Gracie,’’ a spokesperson said.
“As Ms Gracie is no longer competing in Super2, Supercars will not be commenting further.”
The first woman to compete full-time in the sport, Gracie has her own website where she sells pictures and movies for a monthly subscription fee.
After claiming she made nothing from seven years as a race car driver, Gracie says she can now pull in up to $25,000 a week.
The 25-year-old said she understood going public with her career switch would close the door to any future return to Supercars.
“I didn’t go into this blind,” Gracie said.
“I mean I had no idea it would be where it is today but I did a lot of research before I did it. I understood what was involved. I knew things would be leaked, I knew it would be controversial, I knew all of that.
“I did all the research and made the decision to do it. In my first six days I made 24,000 US and that is when I realised I could really do something with this.”
Renee Gracie’s insane pay rise
Gracie’s decision to go public has paid immediate dividends.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph over the weekend it was revealed that more than 5000 people have subscribed to Gracie’s site since news of her career switch broke last Thursday.
That equates to $64,750 in three days.
Gracie is said to have about 7000 subscribers, meaning she makes $90,650 a month or $1,087,800 every year if all the subscribers stay signed up.
“It has been the best thing I have done in my whole life,” Gracie told News Corp Australia.
“It has put me in a financial position I could never have dreamt of and I really enjoy it.
“I am fine with whatever they want to call me. I am earning good money and I am comfortable with where I am at.”
Gracie quit Supercars after dream vanished
Gracie shot to prominence when she partnered Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro at Bathurst in 2015 but struggled to get a real foothold in the sport.
The 25-year-old’s best result in her debut Supercars season was a 12th placed finish where she ended up 18th in the championship standings.
Her partnership with de Silvestro saw the wildcard entrants finish 21st at Bathurst in 2015, following a minor crash at Forrest's Elbow.
The pair teamed up again for Bathurst the following year, where they managed to avoid some late-race chaos for a 14th-place finish.
She then went on to compete in the Super2 Series but decided to walk away from motorsport after only recording one top-10 finish in 17 races.
"I wasn't getting the results and couldn't get the funding. I tried to do my best but it got to a point where my dream vanished," she said.
with AAP
