Gracie qualified on the front row for Saturday’s race alongside Justin Tigani in his series debut.
After biding her time in the opening laps, Gracie pulled off a decisive move to take the lead at Turn 4, building a comfortable margin ahead of the Mercedes, before handing over to Davison for the final leg.
Davison brought the Ferrari across the line to take the pair’s first GTWC victory, and Gracie’s first outright win.
The two-time Bathurst winner expressed significant admiration towards Gracie, noting her progression as motivating for him.
“I’m just genuinely thrilled for Renee, really thrilled for her,” Davison told Speedcafe.
“We’re really impressed by her and the way she personally got me on board, how professional she’s been and who she is as a person.
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“She’s worked really hard on herself, so just to see her determination and passion is really motivating for me.
“It’s her dream to get an outright win like that, genuinely, and I think it’s a really cool moment. I think it needs to be celebrated.
“And she did such a f***ing good job, she really earned that, she has all weekend.
“She didn’t get it handed to her, she qualified well, she did a great move [for the lead], and she’s earning it.”
Davison admitted he was nervous before taking over the #181 Ferrari, hoping to cap off the win for Gracie.
“It’s a different moment for me,” Davison added.
“I actually felt really nervous getting in the car because I didn’t want to win that for myself.
“I knew this was a big moment for her and her career, and I felt an enormous responsibility not to let her down.”
Having seen her progression as a driver from afar, Davison noted Gracie’s growth as a person since working together.
“I haven’t been around the last few years, I hear her stories about where she was good, where she wasn’t,” Davison said.
“Now I know she feels mentally, physically stronger than she’s ever been.
“She hasn’t had that reward for it until today, but she was backing herself and she was driving better than ever.
“She just wants to be the best driver she can be, and I keep saying ‘you’re doing well’, and she’s always like ‘no, it’s not enough’.
“She goes ‘tell me if I’m shit,’ she wants someone to scream at her and say ‘harden up.’
“It’s cool, she goes ‘don’t tiptoe around me, just rip into me, or tell me what to do better.’
“She’s really cool to work with.”
For Gracie herself, the win was the reward for two full seasons of frustration and determination.
After joining the Pro-Am Class in 2024 alongside GT veteran Paul Stokell, Gracie elected in the off-season to switch her racing licence from FIA Silver to Bronze, making the solo switch to the Am Class for 2025.
“It’s been a long time coming, for sure,” Gracie said.
“When I first started, maybe it wasn’t something that I thought of in the beginning, if it was possible, purely because it was so new, and there were so many variables.
“The last few years it’s definitely been something that I have wanted to tick off, more so last year, running around as an Am by myself knowing the step that I wanted to take.
“Pretty much everything I did last year was in preparation for these moments.”
Even through the success of winning the Am Class title, Gracie still felt the desire to be in the battle at the front of the field.
“I learned a lot, I think it was very vital for me, very frustrating at times,” Gracie added.
“There were times where I qualified well and times where I was in third or fourth going ‘How good would it be to hand over to a Pro right now? We could get a podium.’
“It was very frustrating at times, but I just knew that I had to execute my parts and my moments.
“I always kept telling myself ‘This time next year, if I do this part great, I can hand over to someone who can continue to execute and potentially do better.’
“Being an Amateur qualifying a little bit further back and racing out of that Pro-Am race, I could sit back and watch a lot of the racing happening.
“So, I made mental notes, and I definitely tried to make sure that I was best prepared for this moment, and I think that finally all came together.”
Gracie was adamant that the driver she paired with for the move back into the Pro-Am ranks had to make her reduction in total seat time worthwhile.
“If I was going to come to the Pro-Am category, I had to drive with someone that would weigh up me spending less time in the car,” Gracie explained.
“They had to give me that same level of growth and knowledge and experience off the track when I wasn’t in the car.
“That was an absolute key, something that I wasn’t willing to negotiate.
“Spending less time in the car doesn’t necessarily mean that I still can’t be learning and growing.
“For me, that key person in that point in this program was really, really important and we’ve been able to do that with Will.”
The switch to Ferrari machinery from the familiarity of Melbourne Performance Centre and Audi has not been all smooth sailing for Gracie.
“The Audi was a great car, I was competitive and I won a championship, MPC was competitive,” Gracie added.
“I wouldn’t have got to where I was without them. They supported me immensely from the very beginning, back in 2023 when I started.
“It’s an ever-evolving sport. It’s getting bigger and bigger and I just want it to be in something competitive, something current.
“It’s nothing against the team, it’s nothing against the car, I’m just future proofing myself.”
Coupled with having to learn a new platform, the pair have experienced bad luck while performing strongly.
A DNF from a first lap incident at Phillip Island was followed by a tyre failure at The Bend, with the QR victory offering redemption and relief for the team.
“I knew that I was going to have to take some steps backwards, I’ve never really done well with change in my motorsport career in general,” Gracie admitted.
“One thing that I really wanted to make sure in my program is that I was not changing and not making things difficult for myself, and if I ever changed, it was for the better.
“So moving to this car was a better change for me. I knew I was going to have benefits and gains, and being in a current spec GT3 car is always going to be a gain.
“All things considered, I know we’ve got a DNF and we’ve had a few bad things, but we got a fifth at [The Bend] as well.
“And I think there’s been glimpses of hope that have kept us going, and I have been so confident in Will and I as a pairing from the beginning.”
Gracie and Davison will now turn focus to GT World Challenge Australia’s first visit to Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin on July 24-26.
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