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.
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 [...]
Ruggles Motorsport start Clubman Assault at AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay
The Ruggles Motorsport Team are planning a full assault on the 2020 Techworkz Automotive NSW Clubman Rally Series in their Group 4 specification Triumph TR7 V8. It’s an all family affair for the team with lead engineer and major sponsor Ben Ruggles heading up the team, Matt Ruggles driving and son Guy Ruggles in the co-drivers seat. They also have their adopted brother, ‘Pommy’ Paul Beaston on the Service Crew. Matt is no stranger to rallying, [...]
Middle of the Road – Hyundai Tucson Active 2.0 litre Auto
By Jon Thomson At some point in our evolutionary history our DNA was corrupted and as a race we decided that SUVs were a better proposition for personal transport than small hatches or wagons. It must have been a quirk of evolution, because, if you apply logic, there could be no reason why we would swap smaller more efficient cars with ones that are heavier, offer no more space internally and have a higher centre of [...]
Fun New 4WD Park in Australia
This Central West 4WD Park in NSW is a short drive from Mudgee and this video gives us the low-down on the fun and activities on offer. Finding quiet undiscovered bush camping sites can be quite a challenge. And when it comes to long weekends, especially Easter, it might just be impossible to find that hidden gem. But we were recently invited to come and check out Jamie Smiths Central West 4WD Park, just south [...]
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 [...]
Redhead and Winwood-Smith Chase Mathematical Shot at NSW Title in Coffs Coast Finale
Josh Redhead and co-driver Ray Winwood-Smith head into this weekend’s 2025 Quality Accounting Coffs Coast Rally with a mathematical chance of winning the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, but it’s going to take a near-perfect run to pull it off. The duo, competing in their Hyundai i20 G4 Rally Car, will need to win all three heats at the Coffs Coast event to claim the title, a tough but not impossible task given their recent form [...]
Henry and Buccini Set for QRC Battle at Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland
Queensland pairing Cameron Henry and Claire Buccini are primed for a strong showing this weekend as they tackle the 2025 Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland, entering in the Queensland Rally Championship (QRC) section behind the wheel of their proven 2015 Subaru WRX. Backed by Virtual Security Guard and Buccini Transport, the experienced duo are focused on delivering a competitive result on the fast, flowing roads around Gympie. Henry, who returned to rallying in 2024 after a 15-month break to grow [...]
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 [...]
Putting the new Kumho MT-71 to the test
For those who follow our YouTube channel or regularly read our articles, we recently reviewed the Kumho AT51 all terrain tyre that we’ve been running on the OTD Pajero for some time. We really like the AT51, so when Kumho released a new Mud Tyre, we asked them if we could have a set to test them out and they were generous enough to provide a brand new set of their MT-71’s for us to [...]
