Greece shows the way forward.

Motorcycle show season is imminent but BMW Motorrad in Greece decided to be one step ahead of the game by exhibiting at the Athens Motorshow Live 2009, which took place at the end of September at the Olympic Fencing Stadium in the capital.

With more than 100,000 people visiting the Athens Motorshow Live, the BMW Motorrad Hellas stand was always busy.

Chris Pfeiffer always attracts a crowd wherever he goes...or is it the S 1000 RR.

The Athens Motorshow Live is predominately a car show, catering for those interested in the more extreme and sporting market segments, such as speed, racing and tuning. As the only motorcycle manufacturer present, BMW Motorrad was literally swamped by hundreds of ‘petrolheads’ eager to get a look at the latest models in the line-up, especially the S 1000 RR.

On its 110 square metres exhibition stand, BMW Motorrad Hellas showed a number of models for the first time, including a preproduction S 1000 RR in motorsport colors and an F 800 R Chris Pfeiffer Edition. Completing the line-up was a G 450 X Factory replica, the HP2 Sport, an R 1200 GS Special Edition, and the formidable four-cylinder K 1300 S and K 1300 R models. Also on the stand was a comprehensive display of clothing and accessories from the BMW Rider Equipment range.

More than 100,000 people visited the Athens Motorshow Live over the course of its four-day duration and with the aid of S 1000 RR stickers and S 1000 RR Energy Drink as giveaways, BMW Motorrad Hellas staff were able to collect data from hundreds of prospects who were interested in receiving its new e-newsletter or further contact details for their local BMW Motorrad dealer.

One of the star attractions at the event was Chris Pfeiffer, who came across to Greece on the first two days of the Athens Motorshow to perform four shows in the Live Arena. Chris’s performances had been promoted in advance with print advertisements and internet banners, so many visitors came along to see for themselves exactly what kind of tricks the German superstar could do.

Naturally, Chris didn't disappoint and gave the crowd some performances to remember on his F 800 R and also with the S 1000 RR! So, not only did they have a chance to see this new bike for the first time; they also saw it in action.

Chris smokes out Athens Olympic Fencing Stadium on his F 800 R stuntbike

Unable to resist the Unstoppable power of the S 1000 RR

With lots of media interest in Chris Pfeiffer at the show, every spare moment of the stunt riding world champion's time was spend conducting interviews with TV, newspaper and magazine journalists. In fact, so taken were the show organisers with Chris Pfeiffer that they are hoping he will be back again next year.

All in all, it was a tremendously successful four days of positive PR, according to BMW Motorrad Hellas' Motorcycles Marketing Manager Noelle Sakellaropoulou, who commented:

"We are really pleased with the feedback from this show and it was definitely the right decision for us to be there and put our product range – especially the forthcoming S 1000 RR – in front of this exciting younger demographic. With this superbike, BMW Motorrad will be joining a competitive but very promising segment of the Greek market. The new bike is fantastic and the vibe we got from our visitors at the show is extremely positive. I'm eager to hear what the Greek journalists have to say once they have had the chance to ride the bike in Portimao next month, even though I can already say that we are pretty confident about the verdict."