Renee Gracie Signs Management Deal
16-year-old Brisbane-based kart racer Renee Gracie has signed with specialist motorsport management company, Velocity Management Group.
The initiative - a comprehensive brand, communications and career development program - is designed to springboard Renee’s plans to make a professional career out of her motorsport obsession.
Above: Renee Gracie
pic - afimages.com.au
Velocity Management Group Director, Chris Jewell, commenced discussions with Renee and her parents, Ray and Sue, some months ago.
“Renee first came to my attention when she applied for the Fujitsu ‘Cool’ Driver Program earlier this year" Jewel said.
"I’ve been watching her development closely ever since. Renee’s appetite to want to know more about the comprehensive science of motorsport is unrelenting, while her on-track performances have been excellent considering her relative lack of experience.
Jewell has been involved in the development of numerous young drivers and is delighted that Renee will become Velocity’s first female client.
"I’ve never been more convinced that Australian motorsport needs a competitive female driver taking it up to the men on track, and I genuinely believe Renee possesses all of the vital skills to be able to do just that.
"We’re all going into this with our eyes wide open and Renee has already started to benefit from the preliminary career planning initiatives that we’ve implemented.
“In addition to the announcement of Renee becoming a client of Velocity we are also revealing Renee’s new ‘Devil Princess’ brand, which is a perfect representation of her personality, passion and appearance. Renee wants to become Australia’s version of United States racing star Danica Patrick and this brand profiling encompasses her image attributes perfectly.”
Renee lives in Kuraby, a suburb of Brisbane and lists V8 Supercar star Craig Lowndes as her racing hero. She is studying Automotive Engineering at Alexander Hills TAFE and is dedicated to carving out a professional career in motorsport - either in Australia or overseas.
“I’m over the moon that we’re entering into this relationship with Velocity - and Mum, Dad and I have been working with Chris on this for some time" Renee said.
"This year has been a really tough one on-track, but there’s still plenty of racing left and I’m just so excited about what the future might hold for me.
"There is so much more to motor racing than just driving and I’m going to give it everything I have to make this relationship a success ... for all of us.”
Renee’s next race outing is the Rotax Karting Nationals, held over the weekend of September 2-4 at Geelong’s Corio Karting Complex.
