In 2014, the 32-year-old Italo-Australian journalist focused her attention on sports reporting ... And she hasn’t looked back since.

While her major current role is host, pit reporter and executive producer for the Australian Superbike Championship, Notarfrancesco has spent the past five years covering some of the nation’s biggest sporting events, from the Formula One Grand Prix, to the V8 Supercars and the Asian Cup in Melbourne.

She has also hosted at major events across the state, such as the Logies, the Portsea Polo, the EJ Whitten Poker tournament and the Hearts, Hats and Hooves event.

While Notarfrancesco seems to have been destined for a career in the media industry, she once thought of a role in sports reporting as just a pipe dream.

However, the talented journalist is living proof that with enough passion and determination, anything is possible.

To fully appreciate just how far Notarfrancesco has come, it’s important to take a look at where she’s come from.

With a last name like Notarfrancesco, it’s no surprise she has Italian blood running through her veins: in fact, her father Vincenzo hails from a village called Paterno, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata.

Vincenzo migrated to Australia with his own father, at the age of 19.

“He arrived on a Saturday and began bricklaying the following Monday,” Notarfrancesco says.

“He hasn’t stopped working a day since.”

Notarfrancesco was raised on Italian culture and traditions: since as long as she can remember she has been stomping on grapes to make wine, cutting up tomatoes for copious jars of passata and helping hang the salami in the specially-made room under her parents’ house.

“When you’re young you hate being involved in these traditions, but as you get older you really appreciate them and want to carry them on,” she explains.

“My brothers and I are always there helping out; it was definitely a big part of our lives growing up and it still is today.”

Though born in Australia, Notarfrancesco’s mother, Ann, fully embraced her husband’s culture and traditions.

“She became the best cook ever,” Notarfrancesco exclaims.

“She makes a great osso bucco and my favourite is her lasagne.”

While many Italo-Australians lose touch with their heritage as they grow older, Notarfrancesco is the exception to the rule: she blasts classic Italian hits from the likes of Al Bano and Umberto Tozzi in her car and is an avid believer that traditions such as “Passata Day” should be passed on to future generations.

Perhaps second only to her passion for all things Italian, is Notarfrancesco’s love of sport.

Being the youngest of three children and the only girl, Notarfrancesco grew up playing soccer every night with her big brothers and riding motorbikes on the family farm.

“I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy,” she says.

“I used to watch the Italian football every Sunday with my dad and brothers and I went to the Grand Prix in Melbourne every year.

“Watching the Formula One and seeing the girls in pit lane, I thought that was the ultimate.”

When Notarfrancesco began her career in media, she had no idea that one day, she too would be standing proud in pit lane.

In fact, she barely believed there was a spot for her at all in sports.

“I knew that I always would’ve loved to get into sport but I didn’t really know or believe I would be good enough,” she recalls.

“There was a lot of self-doubt.”

This sense of self-doubt stemmed from the climate in motorsport, and sport at large, at the time.

“When I started in motorsport there were just a handful of jobs available for women and the competition was so fierce,” Notarfrancesco explains.

“There were definitely times when I felt inadequate and like I had to prove myself.

“A lot of people look at a girl coming into pit lane and think that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

“There were definitely really hard times when people wouldn’t give me an interview and I didn’t have that level of respect.”

Notarfrancesco walking down the grid to interview riders at the Australian Superbike Championship. (Photo supplied)

Notarfrancesco adds that things have definitely progressed since her baptism into sports reporting and that there is notably more room for women in the industry now.

“It’s very rare that you’ll see an all-male broadcast lineup,” she says.

“I think I’ve become credible in my field and I have a lot of respect and support from the men around me.”

Having conquered her doubts and become a prominent figure in a male-dominated field, Notarfrancesco now hopes to use her story to encourage other females to do the same.

Last year, she became a Dare to be Different ambassador, lending her support to an initiative which aims to inspire young women to take up careers in motorsport, whether it’s in driving, engineering, management, marketing or communications.

In her role as ambassador, Notarfrancesco runs workshops around Australia with other strong role models, including Supercars driver Simona de Silvestro.

Notarfrancesco’s top piece of advice for young women aspiring to follow in her footsteps is simple: find support around you, have a thick skin and network and sell yourself as much as you can.

While Notarfrancesco certainly has a lot on her plate, she’s always eager for more excitement and action.

Having taken part in the Singapore Grand Prix last year, she says she’s keen to travel the world with another major sporting event.

That said, Notarfrancesco is more than content in her current role and is one of the few people who have landed their dream job.

“Anything else that pops up for me is just a bonus because I’m already doing what I love,” she concludes.

“I’ve found my spot and that spot is in pit lane.”