The first all-female team at Bathurst 1000 in almost 20 years had a shocker of a day on the mountain, crashing into a wall before limping to the finish line, but that’s no different from the performance of plenty of male teams over the years.
News Ltd reports that Renee Gracie “looked a shattered woman” after crashing into the wall.
For a minute there, it looked like she and her teammate Simona de Silvestro might not finish.
The 20-year-old “appeared to run into some oil on the road before hitting the barrier at Forrest’s Elbow,” the report says.
“I thought I was missing it (the fluid on the road) but I obviously didn’t. It’s a bit disappointing, we were off to a good start,” said Gracie.
“I was the first one to find the oil, first one to hit the wall. If we were to be out of the race I didn’t think it would be because of stupid oil on the track.
“It’s pretty tough and I didn’t see our day going this way.”
“Luckily, the Supergirls team managed to get back out onto the circuit after their car was repaired in time, this time with de Silvestro behind the wheel,” the report says.
Earlier in the week, Ford great Dick Johnson suggested the women wouldn’t come close to finishing the race.
Gracie replied: “Dick hasn’t finished heaps of races either so he can’t talk”.
Driver David Reynolds was also fined $25,000 for making inappropriate comments about the female pair before the race, describing their car as “the p**** wagon.”
