Entered at short notice, on a borrowed motorcycle and without his usual navigation device: Maxi Schek has finished second in the Roadbook Enduro class at the Hellas 24 Hours Rally in Greece. This is reported by the Greek portal Pliroforiodotis. According to the report, Giannis Trigkas won, 5 minutes and 44 seconds ahead of Schek. Schek is said to have won two of the four stages, the first and the third. There is no official results list from the organiser. The position and the gap are therefore unconfirmed.
From the Dakar bivouac to a spontaneous start in Greece
Schek is no newcomer to rally raid. According to an interview with the magazine Motorradreporter, cited by S-Timing, he competed in the Malle Moto class at the Dakar 2026. In this class, participants race without their own service crew.
According to the Pliroforiodotis report, he entered the Hellas 24 Hours Rally at short notice. The sources available do not say why he decided to take part.
Borrowed KTM and tablet instead of tripmaster
Schek did not bring a bike of his own. He rode a borrowed KTM EXC 450, an enduro competition motorcycle rather than a dedicated rally machine. His navigation also differed from the norm. He used a tablet and did without a tripmaster. Rally riders normally use this odometer on the handlebars to compare the distance covered with the distances given in the roadbook, the route book containing the navigation instructions. Without it, every junction becomes a sum to work out.
Four stages, 27-hour time limit
The schedule shows what the event involves. According to S-Timing, the official website lists four special stages of 150, 290, 250 and 130 kilometres. The time limits given are 4, 10, 8 and 5 hours, 27 hours in total. The second stage alone, at 290 kilometres, allows up to ten hours. According to these details, the first special stage began at 10:00 at the bivouac. According to S-Timing, the rally is organised by Hellas Rally.
Schek himself is said to have set off as the fourth rider at 10:33 on 30 October 2026, according to the S-Timing editorial team. This is based on a video clip that S-Timing says it was unable to verify. S-Timing did not find an official start list including Schek.
The sources differ on the basic facts: Pliroforiodotis gives Loutraki as the venue and around 878 kilometres across the four stages, whereas S-Timing gives Aidipsos and the stated 820 kilometres of special stage. Whether the higher figure includes the liaison sections is unclear.
Heavy rain, cold and a stoppage in the fog
According to Schek’s account, the weather made the rally harder still. He reports heavy rain, cold and dense fog. Stage 2, the longest stage according to the official plan, was stopped because of the fog. The sources available do not say how the stoppage affected the results.
Even so, things went well sportingly for Schek. With wins on Stage 1 and Stage 3, he stayed within reach of Trigkas until the end, according to Pliroforiodotis. Trigkas finished with a lead of just under six minutes.
Microsleep on the liaison section
The hardest part for Schek was apparently not the special stage itself. By his own account, he struggled with microsleep, on the liaison sections. These are the sections between stages that are not timed. By his own account, he had been without sleep for around 29 hours when he reached the finish.
According to S-Timing, Schek’s participation has not yet been independently confirmed. An official result from the organiser is also still outstanding.
Sources and image credits
- Pliroforiodotis: report on the Hellas 24-hour rally, pliroforiodotis.gr
- S-Timing: Hellas 24Hours 2026, 30 October 2026, s-timing.com
- Photo 1: Participant with number 205 on a gravel track above a bay. Image credit: from material MA-0011, photographer not named, date taken not documented. The image carries the Hellas Rally Raid logo. Image file: https://mediathek.invalid/662e40f4-3237-4ec3-99eb-e38f85a8c485/WhatsApp%20Image%202026-11-03%20at%2008.57.14.webp
- Photo 2: Participant with number 205 at night in a water crossing. Image credit: from material MA-0011, photographer not named, date taken not documented. The image carries the Hellas Rally Raid logo. Image file: https://mediathek.invalid/5c87ff0b-c5b8-41a0-a3ee-bf70e7ffb2d5/WhatsApp%20Image2%202026-11-03%20at%2008.57.15.webp