IT may be a while before motorbike racing becomes an Olympic event, but that hasn't stopped CCM Motorcycles taking advantage of the games in Athens this year.

The Blackburn manufacturer has just opened a new sales office in the Greek capital, and, according to sales manager Bob Kelsall, it's all down to the Olympic 'feelgood' factor.

Speaking at the Motorcycle Industry Association's first-ever test day, at Mallory Park, he said: "We've had so much interest from Greece that the company decided to appoint a distributor to handle all the sales.

"Although we sell our models to most European countries, we were initially very surprised at the sales levels in Greece, and particularly in Athens. But the whole country is experiencing an economic boom -- particularly in the sports leisure sector -- and it's all down to the forthcoming Games.

"I have to say that we are delighted, and it confirms our status as one of the UK's fastest growing brands."

An independent Quarter One market audit has shown that CCM sales have grown 50.7 per cent year-on-year, while the market as a whole is down 26.4 per cent .

As a result, CCM, which has its headquarters at Shadsworth Industrial Estate, has now risen to 15th place in the UK sales league, up around 25 places over last year.

"This is a tremendous achievement for the workforce, the management, and the brand," said Mr Kelsall.

"We have been battling hard, and we are beginning to win consistently. Many of CCM's key competitors are showing negative growth, with only small volume specialist and premium motorcycle manufacturers -- who produce a handful of machines each week -- showing anything like similar growth performance."

The key to the firm's recent success has been its entry into the highly-competitive and large-volume 400cc on/off road market with the CCM 404.

Designed primarily for off-road leisure and competition use, but also used by owners for daily commuting, the 404 -- which was launched six months ago -- now accounts for 70 per cent of CCM's additional sales.

Until September last year, CCM's range was confined to a limited number of 'premium specification' 644cc on/off-road bikes, which limited market potential.

But sales of the 404 have taken off, and it has become one of the top five selling models in its sector, allowing CCM to record an all-time sales record.

Demand at one stage was so high that CCM was forced to suspend production of its other models, primarily the R30 Supermoto and 644 Dual Sport, to cope with orders.

But that doesn't mean that CCM will be resting on its laurels.

"Whilst we have introduced a lot of new and updated models in the last six months, we see the rest of 2004 as a period of consolidation and development," explained Mr Kelsall.

"But we won't be standing still. Next year we will be looking at a brand new, expanded range of machines."