Former V8 Supercars driver turned porn star Renee Gracie has announced plans to make a spectacular comeback as a driver and team owner.
The 25-year-old stunned Australian motorsport when her new career as an adult entertainer became public this year.
The news saw V8 Supercars attempt to distance its brandfrom the former Nissan driver — but it also had a staggering impact of attracting more customers for Gracie on her OnlyFans subscription page.
Gracie claimed last month her newly elevated public profile had allowed her to earn more than $64,000 ($68,469) in three days by sharing explicit images and videos online.
Now, having reached a personal level of wealth she never previously even dreamed of, Gracie has outlined plans to return to racing.
Gracie on Thursday told The Daily Telegraph exclusively that she intends to return as the driver in a team and she plans to finance it herself.
Renee Gracie prepares for practice at Bathurst in 2015. Photo / Getty
"I now have the financial security to get back into it," Gracie told The Daily Telegraph.
"I can now afford to go racing without worrying about crashing the car. I can do it and afford to do it. I can go racing and not have to worry about a budget. I won't be reliant on sponsorships."
She says she would refuse to stop her career as a porn star if forced to choose between a return to motorsport and her OnlyFans business.
Gracie's plans do not include a return to Supercars just yet — and she is not convinced Supercars officials would rubber-stamp her return if she did attempt to force her way back onto the grid.
While Gracie is instead looking at making a return to the Carrera Cup, racing in a Porsche, she is also not ruling out a future attempt to race in the Bathurst 1000.
Supercars journalist James Phelps described Gracie's plans as a "bombshell".
While driving remains her passion, her porn career remains her lifeblood.
Since her new career became national news earlier this year, Gracie's subscriptions have more than doubled
During an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph last month, Gracie revealed she walked away from Supercars without earning a cent, and after working in a car-yard she decided to cash in on her looks by joining adult subscription website onlyfans.com.
Gracie's OnlyFans page had 7000 subscribers in June, meaning the former racer now makes A$90,650 ($96,981) every month, or A$1,087,800 per year ($1,163,774), assuming the subscribers all stick around.
"It has been the best thing I have done in my whole life," Gracie said recently.
"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."
Ex Supercar driver Renee Gracie in an Instagram post. Photo / Renee Gracie
Gracie started making waves on the karting circuit as a teenager, and had enough talent to be handed a start at Bathurst in 2015, where she partnered Simona de Silvestro in a historic moment for women's sport.
She became the first Aussie woman to compete full-time in the sport and was popular around the track.
But it didn't last, and after finishing 14th up Mt Panorama in 2016 she was replaced as de Silvestro's partner.
"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," Gracie said.
