HELLAS RALLY RAID 2023

2023 is the year that team RallyMoto attended one of Europe’s biggest rally raids, the Hellas Rally.

We transported the bikes and gear for Stuart Cryer, Pete Livsey, Andrew Yartlett, and Martin Gibson, and together we supported each other throughout all the trials and tribulations that this event threw at us!

SLIPPERY WHEN WET

To set the scene, this years edition was based in the mountain town of Karpenissi, some 1000m higher in elevation that the previous year’s coastal bivouac. With that came some fairly unpredictable mountain weather.

At the first evening’s briefing, Meletis, the organiser, informed us all that there was an unusually high chance of severe weather and thunder storms, and it although it wasn’t exactly the relentless rainfall we experience so often in the UK, it was enough to turn some of the tracks into slippery slop fests, make some of the river crossings unrideable, and have us navigating through thick mountaintop fog with less than 10m visibility.

There were some plus’s to the wet conditions; we didn’t go through as many tyres as we thought we would, and air filter changes weren’t as frequent or essential. The wet tracks did slow the riders down significantly, however.

The welcome (and warning) briefing.

Andrew Yartlett sending it in the prologue.

Burt marking up.

Day two, at 340km, was the first big day of riding and it was gone midnight before all of the riders were out of the woods and back in the bivouac. Gabby was the last one of our group in that evening and arrived back at camp at about 9pm after tackling the final, and most technical section of the stage in the dark.

(TOP TIP: Ensure you have a way of lighting your roadbook!)

The Brutal Beginnings

By the end of day two it had already been an eventful event for team RallyMoto. Andrew Yartlett’s engine had seized 15km into the prologue on day one. After being recovered back to base and a late night of engine disassembling, rebuilding, and hunting for replacement parts, he relinquished all hope of continuing the race, and gracefully took on the role of team mechanic, vowing to stay positive and use his exceptional skills as a mechanic to get the rest of us over the finish line.

And we did our very best to keep him busy!

Not exactly what you want on day one of Hellas Rally!

Battered, Bent and Bruised

Gabby bent a few bolts and bits going over the bars in a muddy rut, Burt had a full nav tower failure, Stu’s fork seals needed replacing, Pete rode a stage with a shot front wheel bearing, leaking radiator and broken fan…

Yes, it was sad for Andrew but a huge bonus for us that he was available and willing to lend a hand in keeping our bikes straight and running.

Unfortunately and despite his greatest efforts, Alex was unable to race beyond day two due to an ongoing injury, and joined Yartlett in a supporting the rest of the riders throughout the week.

Andrew taking on the role of chief mechanic.

That’s Rallying…

Stu Cryer, despite this being his first multi-day roadbook rally, was the most likely to do well because of his long history of earning silverware on the international MX and enduro racing circuit. But, this is rallying, and anything can happen….

Stu took a gamble riding across a fast flowing river crossing and unfortunately it didn’t go his way. A drowned bike, a one hour delay and a very soggy Stu meant that he lost a lot of time and energy on the second stage. An accidental early departure from a neutralisation zone on another stage cost him more penalty points, bumping him down the rankings. But being the pedigree racer that he is, he wasn’t about to give up so easily!

JUST KEEP ROLLING

So with four of us still in the race we kept rolling through day after day. Day three was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions, and we welcomed a rest and some prep time for the day four and five marathon stages which were to lead us to a remote bivouac.

The roadbooks on these stages were also cut short, but with the conditions as they were, we were still served up a couple of tough days of riding up and over stony mountain passes and winding through dark damp forests.

Marathon Day One at the top of a very bumpy mountain track

Parc Ferme at the end of Marathon Stage 1

The remote ‘Parc Ferme’. Feeling a bit tired on the morning of marathon day 2.

A Bumpy Ride for Big Bikes

The rocky sections were most felt by Pete Livsey, who held an impressive speed on his 690 Enduro along some very rough tracks. On the fast open sections the bike came into it’s own though, and despite his mechanical issues he made good time and finished every stage in style.

THE END IN SIGHT

Between the bouts of rain the sun did shine and we managed to kick up some dust (and eat quite a lot of it if you were unlucky enough to be passed by a SSV!).

The stages progressively got faster and more flowy, and by on day seven, although somewhat bruised and battered, the four of us rejoined each other at the finish line to receive our medals and regroup with the rest of the team who supported us through the event.

Actiongraphers - 410, 413, 433, 512 - AG2_6826

Some Great Results

Stu Cryer, despite his penalties finished an impressive 9th place in veterans class, and in the top 100 overall.

Pete finished in the top 10 in class and in the top 100 overall. Well done Pete!

Congratulations to Martin Gibson, who completed every stage of the Rally in Malle Moto class on his 300cc two stroke!

It was a huge achievement, a big learning curve and an experience of a lifetime attending the 2023 Hellas Rally. It’s a massive endeavour for any organisation team to have so many riders and drivers out on course. Throw in some adverse weather conditions and you have one beast of an event to manage!

Thanks to all the organisers and the huge number of staff who ran the event, but most of all to our wonderful team for urging each other along, fixing each others bent and broken bits and enjoying an unforgettable experience together!

A big shout out to Alex Golden for safely and seamlessly transporting everyone’s bikes and kit to and from Greece.

We plan to do more Rallies abroad and to offer transport and support solutions to riders, so if this is something you’d be interested in doing, watch this space!

Photos by Sprocketdog Media and Actiongraphers.