Stefan Svitko already has a firm grip on the Greece Rally 2026 after the first long stage. The Slovak won Sunday’s prologue at Serres and on Monday, over the 283-kilometre SS2 ‘Mountains’, was more than an hour faster than the rest of the bike field. Among the SSVs, Kees Box, with Kees Box Jr., turned a Dutch family affair to his advantage.
After the prologue and the first mountain stage, the Dutch contingent is still largely intact, although three Dutch entrants failed to reach the finish on day 2. Ruben van der Vlis is the fastest Dutch motorcyclist; in the M1 class, by our own count, three Dutchmen sit directly behind Greece’s Marios Gardelis, and among the SSVs Dutch crews occupy the first three places.
Prologue: Schans surprises with third-fastest time
The rally opened on Sunday afternoon with a short prologue in the hills near Eleonas, above Serres. Svitko, riding a Ducati 450 for the first time, was the first starter and immediately the fastest in 18:09. Benjamin Harvey-Grounds (Kove 450 Rally) followed at 2:32.
The most striking name in the top three was that of Dennis Schans. The MEMO Tours rider set the third-fastest time on his Husqvarna FE 350, 2:40 behind Svitko and thereby the fastest in the M1 class. Czech riders Stanislav Pavelka and Daniel Rymes finished two and six seconds behind Schans, directly behind him.
The prologue results list 62 names, against 77 entries on the participant list. Norbert Bucko and Giannis Sevastopoulos, among others, who were named in the preview as challengers to Svitko, do not appear in the results.
Long day through Lailias and Menikio
Monday brought the first real test: SS2 ‘Mountains’, 283 kilometres through the area around the Lailias ski resort, Agistro and the Menikio mountains, with altitudes exceeding 1,500 metres. MEMO Tours, which lines up with six bikes and an SSV, was positive afterwards. According to the team, it had everything: sand, rocks, climbs and singletracks, over a total distance of 310 kilometres, of which 295 kilometres were unpaved. The reactions around the table were “very positive”, the team said.
Svitko made it a demonstration. He needed 5:34:58 for the special and, after the deduction was applied and an additional four-minute penalty, came out with a day time of 5:13:58. Harvey-Grounds was second again, but lost 1 hour and 5 minutes. Pavelka was third at 1:07:15, followed by Austria’s Ferdinand Kreidl and Rymes. After two days, Svitko holds a lead of more than an hour over Harvey-Grounds.
Van der Vlis fastest Dutchman
Ruben van der Vlis (Riding Adventures, KTM 450 EXC) rode a consistent second day. After the thirteenth-fastest time in the prologue, he was ninth on SS2, at 1:28:55 behind Svitko. Combined, that puts him seventh in the general classification and fifth in the M2 class.
In the M1 class, the day’s win went to Gardelis, but directly behind him three Memo Tours Team riders finished. Frank de Mik (KTM EXC-F 350) was the fastest of them in nineteenth, followed by Nico Dekker (21st) and Schans (22nd). Schans actually rode a faster special than both his teammates, but on top of a 45-second penalty for speeding offences he received an additional thirty-minute penalty. The results do not state what for. Without that penalty he would have come out in twelfth place. Combined over both days, Schans is second in the M1 class, with De Mik 1 minute and 9 seconds and Dekker 9 minutes and 10 seconds behind him. Veteran Jaap Martens was 32nd.
Robbert Plarina (KTM 450 EXC) finished 25th, Henk Nijmeijer 37th. For Bert Veenje the day ended early. The MEMP Tours rider, who had still finished 26th in the prologue, spent almost the entire day searching for the problem with his bike, and found it. The connection to the injector had broken; fortunately he will be back at the start tomorrow.
Kenny van Eerd is the one left standing
In the all-Dutch quad class, the prologue was a neck-and-neck race between the two Yamaha Raptors of Van Eerd Racing. Kenny van Eerd was one second faster across the line than rookie Roy van Eerd, but a fifteen-second penalty for Roy made the gap 1:16. On SS2 Roy did not reach the finish, leaving Kenny, with a day time of 7:46:02, the only quad rider in the results to complete the special.
Box takes a double
Kees Box and Kees Box Jr. (QFF Racing, Can-Am Maverick R) won both the prologue and SS2. In the prologue they kept Rene and Joyce van Eerd (Van Eerd Racing) 2:06 behind, with Kenny de Vries and Jo Lenders (QFF Racing) third. Ruud and Patricia Vollebregt (QFF Racing) were fourth, Wil Wouters and Niels van Limpt (Memo Tours Team, Polaris RZR) fifth. Greece’s Giannis Varvakis closed out the field.
On SS2 Box extended his lead further. Wouters and Van Limpt recovered from a difficult prologue with the second-fastest time at 17:31, De Vries and Lenders were third at 21:50. Vollebregt lost more than an hour and came in fifth, behind Varvakis. For Rene and Joyce van Eerd, second after the prologue, the special ended prematurely.
Looking ahead: marathon to the Rodopi
Tuesday begins the toughest two-parter of the week. The first marathon day covers 312 kilometres, with two special stages: SS3 Menikio (81 km) and SS4 Rodopi (152 km), linked by a 57-kilometre connecting stage via Nevrokopi to the Nestos valley. On that connection, entrants must arrive exactly on time. SS4 runs along the Bulgarian border to above 1,650 metres altitude, with a fuel stop using jerrycans along the way. The stage ends at the Erymanthos Forest Village, where the participants spend the night. During the marathon no tyres may be changed, on penalty of thirty minutes.
