Bristle My Branflakes - 14 April 2020

SIR STIRLING MOSS PASSES AWAY

The sad news that Sir Stirling Moss had peacefully passed away was announced on Sunday. There are few people, let alone racers, who have achieved the level of fondness amongst the nation. Social media was filled with delightful stories that gave us all a glimpse into his life, his character, his personality and his achievements. We have selected the obituary from Autocar to share with you, to read what Steve Cropley wrote, click the link here. We have also included a celebration of his epic Millie Miglia victory, which you can read by clicking here.

CALLS FOR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME BEGIN

In, what seems like a premature move, some have begun to call for a scrappage scheme to help the automotive sector, once lockdown restrictions begin to lift. Alan has some “views” on this and the chaps discuss the wider issues that will be involved in any attempt to stimulate the economy. To read more, click the Car Dealer Magazine article here.

SECURITY VULNERABILITIES FOUND ARE NOT AS BAD AS MADE OUT

Which? has released an article to much hysteria about security vulnerabilities found in Volkswagen and Ford models. Fortunately, The Register spoke to an expert who put them into perspective, Ian Tabor who runs Car Hacking Village UK. We thoroughly recommend you read the article and check out the six tips at the end of the piece, where Ian lays out ways to make connected cars safer. To read this, click the link here.

FERRARI LAUNCHES ‘BACK ON TRACK’ INITIATIVE

Ferrari is working on a plan to get production up and running again, once the Italian Government relaxes their lockdown rules. The comprehensive scheme which looks at essentials such as testing of employees and suppliers to helping with the psychological effects of the lockdown is very impressive. To read more, click the Complete Car.ie article here.

75 YEARS AGO US LIBERATES WOLFSBERG FACTORY

On 11 April 1945, US soldiers released 7,700 forced labourers from the Wolfsberg Factory.

HOW DO TOYOTAS END UP WITH SUDANESE REBELS

An investigation by the organisation Global Witness has found out how so many Toyota Land Cruisers and Hiluxs end up in the hands of Sudanese rebels. Global Witness make it very clear they are not suggesting Toyota has any hand in this. To read more, click the Jalopnik article from Max Finkel here.

We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here.

TEMPORARY WRC TESTING BAN INSTIGATED

The news that the FIA has introduced a temporary ban on testing, for WRC teams, came as a bit of a shock as the chaps had presumed it was already the case. However, now it is official. To read more, click the DirtFish article here.

SIR STIRLING MOSS PASSES AWAY

The sad news that Sir Stirling Moss had peacefully passed away was announced on Sunday. There are few people, let alone racers, who have achieved the level of fondness amongst the nation. Social media was filled with delightful stories that gave us all a glimpse into his life, his character, his personality and his achievements. We have selected the obituary from Autocar to share with you, to read what Steve Cropley wrote, click the link here. We have also included a celebration of his epic Millie Miglia victory, which you can read by clicking here.

CALLS FOR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME BEGIN

In, what seems like a premature move, some have begun to call for a scrappage scheme to help the automotive sector, once lockdown restrictions begin to lift. Alan has some “views” on this and the chaps discuss the wider issues that will be involved in any attempt to stimulate the economy. To read more, click the Car Dealer Magazine article here.

SECURITY VULNERABILITIES FOUND ARE NOT AS BAD AS MADE OUT

Which? has released an article to much hysteria about security vulnerabilities found in Volkswagen and Ford models. Fortunately, The Register spoke to an expert who put them into perspective, Ian Tabor who runs Car Hacking Village UK. We thoroughly recommend you read the article and check out the six tips at the end of the piece, where Ian lays out ways to make connected cars safer. To read this, click the link here.

FERRARI LAUNCHES ‘BACK ON TRACK’ INITIATIVE

Ferrari is working on a plan to get production up and running again, once the Italian Government relaxes their lockdown rules. The comprehensive scheme which looks at essentials such as testing of employees and suppliers to helping with the psychological effects of the lockdown is very impressive. To read more, click the Complete Car.ie article here.

75 YEARS AGO US LIBERATES WOLFSBERG FACTORY

On 11 April 1945, US soldiers released 7,700 forced labourers from the Wolfsberg Factory.

HOW DO TOYOTAS END UP WITH SUDANESE REBELS

An investigation by the organisation Global Witness has found out how so many Toyota Land Cruisers and Hiluxs end up in the hands of Sudanese rebels. Global Witness make it very clear they are not suggesting Toyota has any hand in this. To read more, click the Jalopnik article from Max Finkel here.

We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here.

TEMPORARY WRC TESTING BAN INSTIGATED

The news that the FIA has introduced a temporary ban on testing, for WRC teams, came as a bit of a shock as the chaps had presumed it was already the case. However, now it is official. To read more, click the DirtFish article here.

ADVICE ON SIM RIGS FOR EVERY BUDGET

Goodwood Road & Race has released an article outlining how you can build your own sim rig, starting at the lower end of the budget scale, moving up to more, shall we say, costly options. To read this, if you’re thinking about sorting yourself out with some virtual driving, click here.

LUNCHTIME READ: THE WORK OF TERRY DAVEY

If you’ve picked up a Haynes manual, you will probably have marvelled at the cutaway drawings, which we can thank Terry Davey for. Chris Pollitt has written an excellent article about his work for the manuals, from 1972 to 1991. To read more of the Car and Classic piece, click here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: HOW TO GET YOUR MOTORING FIX AT HOME - FILMS AND TV

Autocar has created a list of ways we can all still get our motoring fix, whilst we stay at home. We have picked out the film and TV article as the one to check out this week. To run through the list, click the link here.

AND FINALLY: HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE PLURAL OF LOTUS

Thanks to Alex Goy sharing this, from the very excellent Lotus PR Team, here is a trip back in time to when Lotus had to clarify how to pronounce the plural of their name. To find out how, for yourself, click the link here.