My Ride, My Life: Francesca Nocera

“It's the best thing that has ever happened in my career. When I got the call I was crying because it's not every day that someone from HRC calls you to race for them.”

In 2024 the 31-year-old Italian joined Team HRC to ride in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup as teammate to Monster Energy Honda Team’s Tosha Schareina, both riding the Honda CR Electric PROTO.  It turned out to be a good pairing too as right from the first round at Osaka in Japan they came away leading the team classification. During the season Francesca was in with a chance of taking the female title, but the final weekend at Crans Montana in Switzerland saw her unknowingly race with broken ribs. Pushing through the pain barrier with grit and determination she took a well deserved runner-up spot in the Female category after a very impressive debut season.

What Crans Montana showed was that when the going gets tough Francesca is one tough cookie and even when battling with the best in the world on track, she faced an even bigger battle off it a few years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer.

“When you get something like that it's really hard to keep your mind positive and  this sport is what really keeps me positive.  It was a really hard moment, but I think I showed to myself what I'm capable of because it was crazy how my body was and how much time I needed to take to come back into my comfort zone and start riding again.  During that time I really understood what it meant to me to ride a bike and that’s really what I wanted to do.  It was a tough time but I'm here and I also understand what it really means to live.”

Despite the huge set back she continued to notch up more silverware for the family  trophy cabinet which is brim full of all the successes she has had so far.  As a four-time Italian Motocross Champion she nearly didn’t end up as a racer as when she first got on a motorbike thanks to her father, it didn’t quite go to plan.

“When my sister was playing with the bike I wanted to try it so I jumped on and ending up burning my legs. So after a few months I decided to try again and I really liked it and started to do some races. From that time I have some good memories with my family, travelling with the camper and staying with them.”

With her health problems affecting her motocross riding, she decided on a different route in her career and made the change to enduro where she has been a three time winner in the women’s category of the Coppa Italian Enduro and in the world level Enduro GP. As if the wasn’t enough, Francesca this year took part in the gruelling International Six Days Enduro where she helped Team Italy to fifth place in the Women’s Trophy category and ninth in the individual standings.

“I won the Italian championship four times and when you know how much effort you put into it and then you reach it, it’s really special as I’d reached my goal.

I decided to move to enduro, not because I didn't feel comfortable or competitive anymore in motocross, I just needed to reset and it was a good decision as one of the high points in my career was in 2023 when I finished third in the Enduro GP World Championship."

As part of a close knit family from the province of Bergamo, she has had plenty of support from those closest to her, including her beloved Australian Shepherd dog, Asti, who was there for lots of furry cuddles when she started out on her recovery from illness.

“When everything goes well everyone is around you and when you have some problems, you know you can always count on friends. But what comes first for me is my family and I’m really thankful for them and I will never forget where I came from.”

Such is her hunger for all things two wheels and not one to rest on her laurels, Francesca has many more goals she wants to achieve including tackling the famous Dakar Rally.

“I do love a challenge so it would be amazing to do the Dakar as I want to experience so much on two wheels.  If I could sum up riding a motorcycle in one word it’s freedom.  It's actually what I'm feeling when I'm riding, I’m just there with my bike and enjoying that time.  I haven’t found one sport that gives me so much as when I'm riding a motorbike.”