18 winning branches visit team’s state-of-the-art facilities in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
GSF Car Parts branches from across the UK took part in two days of exclusive tours of the Alpine F1 technical centre last week after winning in a Delphi Technologies ‘Chequered Flag’ promotion.
Technical partner of the BWT Alpine F1 Team, Delphi Technologies welcomed 18 winning branches to the state-of-the-art facilities in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire following a promotional competition held across the GSF network.
The winning branches were treated to an exclusive tour before testing reaction times on a Batak machine, competing for the best lap times on an F1 race simulator and getting hands-on in a pit stop challenge.
Nathan Scott, customer solutions manager at GSF Car Parts said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to see Delphi’s connection with Alpine and has only given us even more appreciation that we’re supplying OE-quality parts to our customers, knowing they’ll fit first-time with confidence.
“We’d like to thank Delphi Technologies for a fantastic day out, enjoyed by all.”
Particularly impressive for the visiting GSF branches, was the team’s fleet of 3D printing machines used to build jigs and fixtures, fluid flow rigs, investment casting patterns, and wind-tunnel parts.
The capability of these machines is such that they are even trusted to manufacture parts used on the car itself, including electrical boxes and cooling ducts.
Taking part in the visit, GSF Car Parts Blackburn branch manager, Matt Brown said: “It’s been brilliant, a really great day.
“To see the technical expertise behind the team is truly impressive. Growing up watching Formula 1, this is what dreams are made of.”
The Whiteways Technical Centre has undergone significant investment in recent years including a two-storey extension to accommodate a new research and development suite, an extension to the truckie building to form a composite production building and various new recruits including in aerodynamics.
Ben Coekin of Delphi Technologies said: “We’re really happy to be rewarding GSF branches and to be able to demonstrate Delphi’s technical expertise through our partnership with the BWT Alpine F1 Team.
“We’ve always been OE and, through structured forums, BorgWarner and Alpine are now combining expertise to identify technologies and technical collaborations in the future Alpine electric vehicle line-up.”
