‘This was the tipping point.’ The star of the Stan Original Documentary Revealed - Renee Gracie: Fireproof is ready to talk.

Motorsport legend and OnlyFans creator Renee Gracie is ready to tell her story — the entire story.

The Stan Original Documentary Revealed - Renee Gracie: Fireproof offers a glimpse into the mind of one of the first Australian women to compete full time in Supercars. 

In Renee's own words, she discusses the years of sexism she faced in motorsport leading up to her 2017 retirement, then starting a successful OnlyFans career before reentering V8 racing in 2023.

Mamamia spoke to Gracie ahead of the documentary premiering on Stan on May 26 and the 29-year-old admitted that signing on to turn her life into a film was an "easy decision" for her when producers approached her three years ago. 

"At the time, I was undergoing a lot of heat online trying to get back into motorsport and it wasn't easy. And I thought 'You know what? No one knows my story.' I wanted people to know how hard it was to just be a female and get into racing," she said. 

"It was a story that I wanted to tell. I was so sick and tired of being controlled, told to keep quiet about things and not being able to tell my side. It is now or never and this might be the only chance I have to tell people how difficult things can be in motorsport for women."  

Some of the more disturbing moments are detailed in the documentary which includes years of her looks being emphasised over her skills as a driver. Gracie also endured constant sexist abuse throughout her career from racing punters from her early years competing in Go-Karts as a teen to moving into motorsports in adulthood. 

Image: Supplied. 

When asked if she was worried about more criticism coming from the new film, Gracie said she takes it in her stride. 

"I've already got so much backlash. How can I possibly get any more? I'm used to it. Nothing fazes me anymore. I've been through it all. I went through it when I was young — like 17 or 18 — and I've heard it all," she said. 

After being recruited into the racing scene in 2013 and becoming the first female to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, she was moved to Super2 racing in 2015 before entering her first Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

After years of professional burnout and having to represent an entire gender on the racetrack, Gracie announced her retirement in 2017. She can pinpoint the moment she decided she needed to quit. 

"I do actually remember a specific point in time," she said.

"I was in a car on a road trip and I had to stop to go to the toilet. I was busting as I was driving back from Brisbane to Melbourne where I was living. I was at the time sponsored by Caltex and I stopped at a BP service station to go to the toilet. A fan was there and took a photo of me and posted it on Facebook."

This quickly got back to her manager who called Renee. 

"He's like 'What's going on? You've just had a photo taken at a BP!!'. I was just like, 'You know what? I just needed to go to the toilet, I don't need this in my life.' This was definitely like a tipping point where I was like, 'I really don't want to do this anymore.' I could not be bothered to deal with this drama." 

After retiring, Gracie started posting the occasional bikini selfie on her Instagram before she realised she could make a lot of money by creating an OnlyFans account. 

"It was honestly my fans that made that decision for me. I had no idea what OnlyFans was — people started commenting and messaging me saying 'you should sell photos on OnlyFans, you should sell photos on here'," she recalled.  

At first, Gracie posted bikini and lingerie photos but she soon started doing solo and collaborative porn videos and became one of the platform's top earners Australia. 

"If you turned around and asked me to be a model, I would have said absolutely not. It was never the intention at all. I think it was the direction that my fans pushed me. A lot of people were offering to pay money. And I was like, 'Whoa, I could go with a bit extra cash in my pocket.'" 

In the past few years, she got a number of plastic surgeries which Gracie admits were to replicate a feminine ideal she was pressured to uphold during her racing days.

Image: Supplied. 

"From a young age, it was beaten into me about how much I should weigh, how I should look, that I should look more like a lady and I should look more feminine because I am a female and trying to get that tomboy like pushed out of me," she recalled.

"My perception of 'a woman' was someone with big boobs, long hair, big bum, skinny legs, more weight. That was my perception of a woman because that's what I was made to believe. If it wasn't for that, I don't think I would have had any plastic surgery. But it was just from the age of 16 and 17 all the way up to 25, it was a constant thing in my life — how I looked." 

This being said, Gracie doesn't regret any of her surgeries, including two controversial Brazilian butt lifts which are known in the industry for their high death rate. "I'd get another [BBL] one tomorrow," she told us.  

Something unexpected that's come from her OnlyFans career is her friendships with other women on the platform. 

"Throughout my whole life, I never really had close girlfriends, I had one or two but not a massive group of friends and a lot that I couldn't relate to," she shared. 

It was only when she joined OnlyFans that Renee found a supportive circle of women. "I realised that not everyone's your enemy. You don't compete against everybody — people actually just want to be friends and be nice and helpful. I had girls messaging me telling me tips and tricks," she said.

"They weren't trying to sabotage me or keep me off the track, or get me off the platform. My eyes opened up and I was like, 'oh my goodness, there's a whole field of women who are just like strong, empowered, beautiful, amazing people.' And they're just really friendly, really good humans." 

The OnlyFans community she built proved to be the exact opposite to the environment fostered within motorsports. "Coming from motorsport, it was super negative and derogatory towards women," she said.

"But there are really supportive people in the world who actually want to be your friend and help you succeed. Once I discovered that, I realised that OnlyFans was a really beautiful place to be... women want women to flourish in OnlyFans and in the sex industry in general." 

Renee Gracie and OnlyFans creator Jenna. Image: Instagram/@onlyfansreneegracie.

When asked if she thinks the racing industry can change to become more inclusive, Gracie said it could be an issue of people — namely men — being stuck in the past. 

"I think it's a generational thing. Motorsports is still considered a man's sport; a rich man's sport. I feel like maybe a few generations have to disappear into the distance for the younger generations."

Ultimately, she said that the kinds of abuse she received daily during her racing days should no longer be acceptable.

"If you read the comments on my Facebook page — it's disgusting, they're horrible, and there's no protection for me. I just have to delete the comments myself or they'll stay there. There are no penalties. I've had beer cans thrown at my head and had things yelled at me in person, but those fans don't get penalised, and they don't get punishment for their actions," she said.

"Unfortunately, I don't know if they'll listen to me. Some of them probably think my opinion is invalid."

After what she experienced, Gracie doesn't hold out much hope for a more inclusive future for the sport.  "I don't think it'll change ever to be honest. It's an industry where men are allowed to do their thing," she said. 

As for what the driver and OnlyFans creator hopes to do next, Gracie doesn't plan to enter Bathurst 1000 again after she was rejected in her 2023 bid. But she has set her sights on a new challenge.

"I would like to do the Bathurst 12 Hour which is the GT race — that's definitely on the cards. We tried to do it this year but it was a little bit tricky with my rankings and everything. 

"Fingers crossed for that for next year." 

The Stan Original Documentary Revealed - Renee Gracie: Fireproof will premiere May 26, only on Stan.

Feature image: Stan.