High School Students Get Taste of Drifting at Giti Tire Plant Event

Tire company hopes the drifting experience for local high school students will inspire the next generation of engineers and manufacturers.

RICHBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA, May 12, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — A group of South Carolina high school students got the rare experience of riding shotgun with professional drift drivers at the Giti Tire plant on Monday, May 9, 2022, as part of a community event hosted by Giti Tire.

It was a unique opportunity for students in the Chester County Career Center’s Automotive Technology Program to see the state-of-the-art facility and learn more about the tire manufacturing process firsthand. They also got to meet Formula DRIFT drivers and ride along with the drivers on a course set up outside the plant to experience the performance of the GT Radial Champiro SX2-RS competition tire that is designed and produced at the Giti Tire plant in Richburg.

The event was very timely as the drivers were fresh from the Formula DRIFT competition in Atlanta on May 7-8 in which GT Radial driver Chris Forsberg celebrated on the podium after achieving a second-place finish. GT Radial driver Dan Burkett finished fourth.

It was also timely because the students had just finished studying about tires, steering and suspension in vehicles. They were thrilled with the opportunity to see how tires, such as the GT Radial Champiro SX2 RS competition drifting tires, are made right there in their backyard. Then they donned helmets for a thrill of a lifetime drift on the GT Radial Champiro SX-2 RS competition tires with Forsberg, Burkett, Jeff Jones, Kasuya Taguchi, Travis Reeder and Amanda Sorensen – all world-class Formula DRIFT drivers.

“It was awesome,” automotive tech student Isaiah Schnepf from Great Falls High School, told the Chester News & Reporter which covered the event. “There was nothing but a smile on my face. I can’t even explain it – it went by fast, but it was one of the best experiences of my life!”

Schnepf told the Chester News & Reporter that getting “hands on” experience with the professional drivers was really valuable “because a lot of the things we saw today, we are doing in our auto tech class at the career center.”

We were thrilled to welcome students and community guests to our Richburg plant to showcase our highly automated manufacturing plant, latest manufacturing technology and skilled workforce, as well as experience the performance of GT Radial tires made in Richburg,” said Julianto Djajadi, executive vice president for business operations for Giti Tire USA. “Our South Carolina plant is a special place with special people and many stories to tell. We hope this visit inspired the next generation of engineers and manufacturers in the local community.”

Since planting roots in South Carolina, the company has partnered with the Chester County School District and established Giti Math & Science clubs in schools across the area to help students develop valuable STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) skills. The clubs meet several times throughout the year, culminating with an annual interscholastic contest.

After placing six drivers in the top 12 in Formula DRIFT last year, GT Radial is off to a good start in 2022 with three-time champion Forsberg achieving second place at the Atlanta event. Seven drivers are competing on GT Radial Champiro SX2 RS tires for the eight rounds of the 2022 Formula DRIFT season.

Giti Tire has been in the tire business since 1951. The company operates eight manufacturing plants in the world and manufactures a broad range of tire products and markets to customers in more than 100 countries. Giti Tire (USA) Ltd. is the sales, marketing, and distribution company for North America. For more information, please visit gitiusa.com.

John Taylor
Giti Tire (USA) Ltd.
615-477-3099
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