Racing since she was 14 years old, Gracie has been called the glamour girl of motorsport.
But she is determined to be remembered for her skills on the track, not her looks.
With green eyes and long black hair, Renee Gracie may look like she belongs on the modelling runway, but it is on the racetrack she feels at home.
After racing go-karts as a teenager, Gracie graduated to touring cars on her 18th birthday.
She spent two years in the Porsche Carrera Cup, the first female to do so.
Then this season, she moved into the V8 Supercars development category, the Dunlop Series.
But rising through the ranks has not been easy, she says. "You got people who would either love you or hate you. You had people who were on your side or completely against you. And it wasn't just the kids I was racing against: it was their dads, it was their brothers, sisters. So it was tough. It was one of those things where I kind of was around long enough and I stuck to it."
Now, she is preparing to debut in the main game at the Bathurst 1000, teaming up with Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro.
Gracie is spending a month in a gym outside Melbourne building up her endurance for the 1,000 km race.
Her trainer, Joshua Webb, says her approach at the gym is the same as her approach on the track. "She's an animal. Yep, she loves it. She attacks everything head-on. She never whinges, which is very critical, that we're very critical on as well. We don't like to train athletes who have a lot to say in that regard."
Gracie and De Silvestro will be the first all-female driving team to race the Bathurst 1000 since 1998.
The best result ever achieved by a woman on Mount Panorama has been sixth, meaning the pair are likely to attract a lot of attention.
But Gracie says it will be her speed, not her looks, that will have heads turning.
"I mean, I'm lucky enough that I get enough attention as it is. I don't think I need to go seek any more than I already get. I get plenty of it, and I think we milk it when we can and we do whatever we can to get it how we think is, I guess, necessary."
But while she is considered the glamour girl of racing, she says she will not be glamour modelling any time soon.
Despite many female athletes branching out into modelling for sponsorship deals, her manager, Chris Jewell, is not anticipating any swimsuit calendar.
"It is a balance to make it right. And I think we've probably found that balance. You won't see any hair-blown-back, bikini shots of Renee. That doesn't fit the brand."
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