Growing up in
Fair Oak,
Hampshire,
England, Noyce was encouraged by his father to start riding motorcycles at the age of 6. He won the British Schoolboy motocross championship at the age of 14 riding a 125cc
Zündapp. Noyce faced a strong field of competitors going into the
1979 season that included the defending World Champion
Heikki Mikkola (
Yamaha), five-time World Champion
Roger De Coster (
Suzuki),
Gerrit Wolsink (Suzuki),
Brad Lackey (
Kawasaki) and his own Honda teammate
André Malherbe. Mikkola had dominated the previous two seasons and was the overwhelming favorite to win the title until he suffered torn ligaments in his leg during pre-season practice. Mikkola's injury allowed his competitors to fill the void and six different competitors won Grand Prix races in 1979 (Noyce, Lackey, Wolsink, Mikkola, Bruno and Malherbe). Although Lackey won six heat races during the year, he struggled with his Kawasaki's lack of reliability. Noyce won the season-opening 500cc Austrian Grand Prix then, at the fourth round in Italy, he took the championship points lead never to relinquish it. Although he won only one more Grand Prix at his home event in Great Britain, he was able to fend off a challenge by Wolsink by posting a string of consistent
podium results to clinch the title at the penultimate Grand Prix in Belgium. He became the first British rider to win a 500cc Motocross World Championship since
Jeff Smith in 1965. Noyce won the
1980 500cc Finnish Grand Prix but then suffered a broken leg that forced him to withdraw from the championship to recover from his injury while his Honda teammate Malherbe won the World Championship. He returned in
1981 and fought a season-long duel with Malherbe as the two riders traded the top two positions in the points standings several times during the 500cc World Championship. Noyce won the
1982 500cc Swedish Grand Prix but failed to score points consistently and dropped to fourth place in the final points standings. He competed in his final World Championship race at the 1985 500cc French Grand Prix at the age of 28. ==Motocross Grand Prix Results==