Maxi Schek is riding the Hellas 24Hours 2026 in Greece. By his own account, the German rally rider entered at short notice. In a video sent via WhatsApp on Friday, 30 October 2026, he says the start is “tomorrow morning”, meaning Saturday, 31 October. A friend invited him and is providing the motorcycle.
He had actually expected a “fun little enduro event”, Schek says in the video. He now expects a considerably tougher test. At the pace on site, he thinks finishing the rally within 24 hours is impossible. His goal: to stay under 30 hours.
Four special stages, start and finish at the bivouac
The organiser is Hellas Rally. According to the organiser’s website, the central bivouac, the riders’ base with service, is in Aidipsos. The schedule published there provides for four special stages, the timed sections of a rally:
- SS1: 150 kilometres, maximum time 4 hours, start at 10:00 at the bivouac, finish at 14:00
- SS2: 290 kilometres, maximum time 10 hours, start at 14:30, finish at 00:30
- SS3: 250 kilometres, maximum time 8 hours, start at 02:30, finish at 10:30
- SS4: 130 kilometres, maximum time 5 hours, start at 12:30, finish at 17:30
That adds up to 820 kilometres of special stages. In the video, Schek speaks of “over 900 km”. Neither source explains where the difference comes from. The schedule itself does support his assessment, though: according to the plan, 31.5 hours pass from the start of the first stage to the finish of the last, while the maximum times of the four stages add up to 27 hours. According to the organiser, service is always at the bivouac; the refuelling points were still to be announced.
The schedule on the organiser’s website gives 26 October at 18:00 for the final results. That does not fit the start date of 31 October given by Schek. No clarification was available at first.
New for Schek: riding at night
By his own account, Schek has never ridden at night in a rally. He has sought advice but did not want to spend much money. He wears lighting on his helmet, with the battery in his jacket. Schek himself suspects the battery will “not last nearly long enough”.
He also sees weak points on the motorcycle. He rides a current 450 EXC, KTM’s enduro model, with almost standard suspension that he finds “far too soft”. With 12 litres of fuel, he has to manage 180 kilometres. He also considers that practically impossible.
Roadbook on a tablet, no tripmaster
For the first time, Schek is navigating with only a tablet. He does not have a tripmaster, the distance counter rally riders use to check the roadbook’s distance information. The display will be small, he says. But he expects more trouble making out the route at night than reading the roadbook.
Schek says he will provide updates during or after the race. He sums up his mood before the start like this: “I’m fired up, I’m up for it.” (translated from German)
Sources and image credits
- Maxi Schek: video of 30 October 2026, sent via WhatsApp, not publicly available. Quotes taken from a transcript.
- Hellas Rally: “Hellas 24H Race”, organiser’s page with schedule, distances and categories of the Hellas 24Hours 2026: https://hellasrally.org/hellas24h
- Photo 1: Motorcycle rider at night on a gravel track, archive photo from an earlier Hellas Rally event. Rights holder: Hellas Rally, photographer not named. Original source: hellasrally.org/hellas24h, uploaded in August 2025.
- Photo 2: Enduro rider on a mountain track, archive photo from an earlier Hellas Rally event. Rights holder: Hellas Rally, photographer not named. Original source: hellasrally.org/hellas24h, uploaded in August 2025.