Buy tickets<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cShe\u2019s worked really hard on herself, so just to see her determination and passion is really motivating for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s her dream to get an outright win like that, genuinely, and I think it\u2019s a really cool moment. I think it needs to be celebrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she did such a f***ing good job, she really earned that, she has all weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t get it handed to her, she qualified well, she did a great move [for the lead], and she\u2019s earning it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davison admitted he was nervous before taking over the #181 Ferrari, hoping to cap off the win for Gracie.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a different moment for me,\u201d Davison added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually felt really nervous getting in the car because I didn\u2019t want to win that for myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew this was a big moment for her and her career, and I felt an enormous responsibility not to let her down.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GTWCA-R1-SRO-R3-JM1_9707-GTWCA-R1-HR-2-e1781488784258-1200x799.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Davison crossed the line with a comfortable gap over second position. Image: Jack Martin<\/p>\n
Having seen her progression as a driver from afar, Davison noted Gracie\u2019s growth as a person since working together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been around the last few years, I hear her stories about where she was good, where she wasn\u2019t,\u201d Davison said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I know she feels mentally, physically stronger than she\u2019s ever been.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hasn\u2019t had that reward for it until today, but she was backing herself and she was driving better than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just wants to be the best driver she can be, and I keep saying \u2018you\u2019re doing well\u2019, and she\u2019s always like \u2018no, it\u2019s not enough\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe goes \u2018tell me if I\u2019m shit,\u2019 she wants someone to scream at her and say \u2018harden up.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool, she goes \u2018don\u2019t tiptoe around me, just rip into me, or tell me what to do better.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s really cool to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Gracie herself, the win was the reward for two full seasons of frustration and determination.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2024GTWCA_PI_DK_RACE_PROJECT_6522-e1781490728160-1200x801.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Paul Stokell and Renee Gracie during the 2024 GT World Challenge Australia season. Image: Race Project \/ GT World Challenge Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming, for sure,\u201d Gracie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first started, maybe it wasn\u2019t something that I thought of in the beginning, if it was possible, purely because it was so new, and there were so many variables.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last few years it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty much everything I did last year was in preparation for these moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned a lot, I think it was very vital for me, very frustrating at times,\u201d Gracie added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were times where I qualified well and times where I was in third or fourth going \u2018How good would it be to hand over to a Pro right now? We could get a podium.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very frustrating at times, but I just knew that I had to execute my parts and my moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always kept telling myself \u2018This time next year, if I do this part great, I can hand over to someone who can continue to execute and potentially do better.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf 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,\u201d Gracie explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had to give me that same level of growth and knowledge and experience off the track when I wasn\u2019t in the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was an absolute key, something that I wasn\u2019t willing to negotiate.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpending less time in the car doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that I still can\u2019t be learning and growing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, that key person in that point in this program was really, really important and we\u2019ve been able to do that with Will.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Renee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2025SRO_R4_THEBEND_RACE_PROJECT_21426-e1781489380766-1200x802.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Gracie won the 2025 Am Class championship in a Melbourne Performance Centre-run Audi R8. Image: Race Project \/ GT World Challenge Australia<\/p>\n
The switch to Ferrari machinery from the familiarity of Melbourne Performance Centre and Audi has not been all smooth sailing for Gracie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Audi was a great car, I was competitive and I won a championship, MPC was competitive,\u201d Gracie added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have got to where I was without them. They supported me immensely from the very beginning, back in 2023 when I started.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an ever-evolving sport. It\u2019s getting bigger and bigger and I just want it to be in something competitive, something current.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing against the team, it\u2019s nothing against the car, I\u2019m just future proofing myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coupled with having to learn a new platform, the pair have experienced bad luck while performing strongly.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew that I was going to have to take some steps backwards, I\u2019ve never really done well with change in my motorsport career in general,\u201d Gracie admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll things considered, I know we\u2019ve got a DNF and we\u2019ve had a few bad things, but we got a fifth at [The Bend] as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think there\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gracie and Davison will now turn focus to GT World Challenge Australia\u2019s first visit to Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin on July 24-26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Davison and Renee Gracie took their first GT World Challenge Australia victory at Queensland Raceway. Image: Jack…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478043,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[17765,111,139,69,61469,213,37751],"class_list":["post-478042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-gt-world-challenge-australia","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-renee-gracie","tag-sports","tag-will-davison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Davison](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GTWCA-R1-SRO-R3-JM2_3548-GTWCA-R1-HR-2-e1781488549886.jpg\")
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/287093.gif\")