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 [...]
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 [...]
New Brinkman–Newell Pairing to Debut at Possum Bourne Memorial Rally
On the Brink Motorsport will debut an exciting new driver and co-driver pairing at the Possum Bourne Memorial Rally on 21 March, with Australian competitors Glenn Brinkman and Kaylie Newell joining forces for the first time on the renowned New Zealand gravel stages. While the pairing is new, both Brinkman and Newell are well known within Australian rallying circles. The two regularly compete in separate teams within the Australian Rally Championship and NSW Rally Championship, bringing [...]
Rally of Oberon Returns to Close Out the 2026 Rally NSW Season
The Rally of Oberon will make its return to the NSW rally calendar on Saturday, 14 November 2026, providing competitors with a new season-ending challenge across the forests surrounding Oberon. Organised by the Rally Car Club, the event will feature approximately 140 kilometres of competitive stages, with crews tackling roads through the Jenolan forests in a traditional roadbook-only rally. The Rally of Oberon will host: Round 5 of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship Round 6 [...]
FJ55 Land Cruiser – The Ugly One
Loved and Hated. The FJ55 Land Cruiser was a 4WD that divided 4WD enthusiasts. It looks and styling was loved by some, hated by others! Toyota's 4WD production started way back in 1941 when the Japanese Army took a Jeep, that they had acquired during the occupation of the Philippines, and sent it back home and ordered Toyota to make something similar. Then in the 1950's, the US Army commissioned Toyota to make 100 vehicles similar [...]
Thompson and Hind back for the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay
Photo: Dave King Peter Thompson and Ken Hind will be back at the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay for their third year running in their bright yellow historic 1976 Celica. Thompson moved to the Eurobodalla Shire several years ago and he considers this event his home rally and also one of his favourite motorsport events. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing out in the Batemans Bay forests. "Last year we had a bit [...]
The Accent on Working Dogs at Bonalbo
It was a completely new event to all at the 2019 Accent Benchtops Working Dog Rally. A joint MTA NSW Rally Championship, Queensland Championship and East Coast Classic Rally Series event that saw 49 cars and crews take to the stages around the small northern NSW town of Bonalbo on a crisp July Saturday morning. The battle for the MTA NSW Rally Championship in particular was rejoined, as championship leaders Richard Shimmon and co driver [...]
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 [...]
Patrols Dominate at COMEUP XWC Round 3 – 2019
It’s been nearly ten years since the Comeup Xtreme Winch Challenge has ventured north into Central Queensland, but on the weekend of July 12-14, it was back with an action-packed weekend of extreme 4WD winching action. Seventeen Central Queensland based teams lined up on Friday night to tackle the first of three stages, set in the Seeonee Park grounds on the outskirts of Rockhampton. It would be a pair of Nissan Patrols taking the first [...]
