In September 2022, Blaenau Ffestiniog’s Mari Rees-Stavros appealed to people to raise money for her son to enter the Dakar Rally.

Mari was delighted when a GoFundMe page raised £3,442, and a raffle at her business, the Lakeside Cafe, raised £700.

Maki, who grew up in Blaenau, was able to fulfil a lifetime dream of competing in the Dakar Rally 2023 in Saudi Arabia.

The rally took place earlier this year, and Maki has been reliving the experience.

“It all started with a lonely 22 hour drive from Abu Dhabi to Yanbu, northeastern Saudi. A grand total of 2,400km. Arriving a day before documentation and tech inspection gave me a chance to setup at sea camp. After unloading I met some of the other competitors.”

Wearing bib number 57, he and his bike started the rally in the middle of the pack.

“I pushed the bike a little and thought I’d done really well, then the timings were published. 112th, not what I expected but I figured flat tracks and tight corners aren’t my speciality. I’d make it back as soon as we got to the desert proper.

“Stage one came, and to my surprise, we barely covered any sand desert. For 2023, the organisers had tried to slow down the race down for safety reasons. They sent us through wadis and over mountain passes. The small sections of sand we encountered had boulders buried just beneath the surface making it impossible to open it up.

“Sam Sunderland, one of the other Brits and favourite to win found out the hard way. He was taken to hospital on the first day after being caught out by a hidden rock.

“I too was caught out and took a tumble only 60km in from the start line. During the fall I pinched my thumb between the bars and the floor, severing my right thumb extensor tendon. 4,630km of race distance to go I’d lost the opening function of my throttle thumb.

“At the neutralisation zone I looked over the bike checking for other damages and noticed my swing arm pivot bolt was missing its head. Unbelievably this is a common fault with the KTM Rally Replica models. A little nervous, but with no other options I rode on with a wonky swing arm and the bike bending at every bump.

“With nothing but hopes and dreams keeping the back end together I limped back to the bivouac and spent the evening replacing it and servicing the bike.”

Maki said he regrets his choice of bike, and lack of experience riding it. Another fall left his body and bike beaten up, but he carried on.

“The more experienced competitors were complaining that it’s the hardest Dakar they’ve ever done,” he recalls.

Coming into stage 13 disaster struck, and Maki ran out of fuel. A fellow rider stopped and towed him to the finish line. Stage 14 was the final stage of the race and “the ground was as slippery as a fish”. Despite that, Maki navigated the course.

“The kilometres go by and eventually the finish line pops onto the horizon. I ease off the throttle a bit as I approach. As I roll to a stop at the final time board, it still hasn’t sunk in. I finished the hardest race in the world.”