ABOUT US
ON THE DIRT was created as a YouTube channel back in the first year that YouTube came into being, 2007. In those days, it was the personal YouTube account of John McCredie with a few little videos of some 4WD trips he had done with family and friends. John had always had a passion for gravel rallying and even won the Australian Rally Championship for pocket rockets in the front wheel drive 0-1300cc category. From there, this passion extended to four-wheel-driving and in 2009 John and his two sons Nathan and Jacob filmed their first 4WD Winch Comp.
The YouTube Channel soon started to grow in both popularity and size (number of videos) and was changed from the name OHM26 to ON THE DIRT. With more videos being produced and more 4wd and rally content being uploaded, the channel now has over 14,000 subscribers and almost 5 million views.
Irish Rally Icon Frank Kelly to Join Lazer Rally of the Bay Field in Spectacular Australian Return
The 2025 Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship just got a serious dose of international flavour, with Irish rally legend Frank Kelly confirming he will contest the Lazer Rally of the Bay on August 2, bringing his legendary 1977 Ford Escort Mk2 “Baby Blue” to the forests of Batemans Bay. This exciting development follows Kelly’s standout visit to Australian rallying at the Forest Rally in Western Australia, where he competed in Round Two of the EROAD [...]
The Mav – Ford Maverick Winch Truck
Peter Bannister competes in a 1992 model Ford Maverick, affectionately call “The Mav”. He and Navigator Josh Flynn were last seen competing at round 1 of the 2016 COMEUP Xtreme Winch Challenge series, but due to a few issues on Friday night and Saturday, could only manage to finish 7th outright. The Mav has a Ford badge on it, but is essentially a Nissan Patrol after Ford rebadged the model for sale in Australia back [...]
Hill and Cooling Impress on Debut of H6 Subaru at Rally of Bathurst
Photo: Roy Meuronen Photography Sam Hill and co-driver Mikayla Cooling delivered a strong and consistent performance at the Shamrock Haulage Rally of Bathurst, finishing 14th outright in the event, 11th in the NSW Rally Championship field, and 9th in the Production Cup on the debut outing for their unique H6 Subaru. The rally marked the first competitive appearance for the car, which began life as a Subaru RS Challenge vehicle before being transformed with an unusual [...]
Arnhem Land – NT
By John McCredie In the North of Australia is a land area called Arnhem Land. It is an Aboriginal reserve that covers almost 100,000 square kilometres and has some of the most remote communities in Australia. You could say that the Aboriginal people own this land and whilst that is essentially true, the idea of ownership has quite a different meaning in their culture. Recently I was privileged enough to be able [...]
Redhead and Winwood-Smith Win Coffs Coast Rally Finale as NSW Titles Decided
The 2025 Quality Accounting Coffs Coast Rally delivered a thrilling finale to the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, with Josh Redhead and Ray Winwood-Smith taking a hard-fought outright victory after a day of challenges, comeback drives, and championship drama on the Coffs Coast. The Redhead Motorsport crew’s weekend didn’t start smoothly. In Heat 1, their Hyundai i20 suffered engine issues that forced the team to turn off the anti-lag system, robbing the car of valuable turbo [...]
New Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain Impresses
By John McCredie After taking the D-Max LSU for a drive last week, this week we are having a drive of the top of the range D-Max X-Terrain. The X-Terrain features coloured guard flares and matching coloured grille. It also has a nicely matched and sleek Aero bar on the back with a roller tooneau cover. The tub also comes lined, but as we’d find out after our off road trip, the roller cover and [...]
Green Light for AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay
The 2020 running of the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay has now received a ‘Green Light’ from Motorsport Australia. The final approval was given to North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) based on the event falling within the Motorsport Australia ‘Return to Race Strategy’, which is approved by the NSW State Government. Whilst NSSCC has been pushing ahead with plans for the Rally, there was always the possibility that further restrictions could have been [...]
New contenders to take on Penultimate Round of the East Coast Classic Rally Series
Round 7 of the East Coast Classic Rally Series (ECCRS) will be held on the 19th of October in conjunction with the final round of the MTA NSW State Rally Championship at the Kosciuszko Automotive Monaro Stages Rally. There is already a good number of classic cars entered, but the more interesting part of the entry list are the new contenders taking on the penultimate round of the series. Heading the list of new Classic hopefuls [...]
Big Names Set to Battle for Glory at the 2025 Lazer Rally of the Bay
With a near full field and entries capped at 65, anticipation is building for the 2025 Lazer Rally of the Bay on Saturday 2nd August. The iconic Batemans Bay based event is the next round of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, East Coast Classic Rally Series (ECCRS) and introduces the Shamrock Haulage RD Cup, a regularity rally for new and seasoned competitors. The weekend promises to bring fierce competition across all categories. Crews will tackle ten demanding stages, [...]
