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.
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 [...]
Championship Battle Heats Up in the Barossa: Price vs Brinkman Set for Showdown
The gravel roads of the iconic Barossa Valley are set to rumble once again as the 2025 MSS Safety Rally Barossa brings South Australia's premier gravel competitors together for Round 2 of the South Australian Rally Championship (SARC). After a thrilling season opener at the Shannons Rally SA – Rally of the Heartland, all eyes now turn to the vineyards and valleys of Rowland Flat, where an epic battle is brewing. This night–day format rally, known for its mix [...]
Techworkz NSW Clubman Rally Series to receive promotional boost
Balance Motorsport Australia and Rally NSW are pleased to announce a new deal where competitors in the Techworkz NSW Clubman Rally Series (CRS) will receive a significant promotional boost in 2020. The Techworkz series, together with its sister series, the Hyundai Rally Series (HRS), will consist of four events in the shortened Motorsport Australia NSW rally calendar: AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay – 4 July Horizon Apartments Narooma Forest Rally – 1 August Midstate [...]
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 [...]
Rally of the Bay – Review Part 2
This is part 2 of our review of the 2020 AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay. When we left you in Part 1, the Toyota Team pairing of Harry Bates and John McCarthy had built up a significant lead after three stages to be leading the rally by just over 26 seconds. And it was the other Toyota Yaris, driven by Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin that was sitting in second. Richie Dalton and [...]
Junior WRC Leader Taylor Gill and Co-Driver Daniel Brkic to Contest Narooma Forest Rally in Yaris AP4
L The 2025 Techworkz Automotive Stages and Horizon Apartments Narooma Forest Rally will welcome one of Australia’s brightest rally teams, with current FIA Junior World Rally Championship leaders Taylor Gill and Daniel Brkic confirmed to compete on September 13. In a major coup for local fans, Gill and Brkic will return to Australian gravel for the first time in several years, driving Richie Dalton’s Shamrock Motorsport Toyota GR Yaris AP4. For Gill, the event marks [...]
Taylor Gill Battles the Rally of Gods to Take Second in Junior WRC
They don’t call it the Rally of Gods for nothing. The EKO Acropolis Rally is one of the most brutal tests in the World Rally Championship, and in 2025 it proved once again why it has earned its legendary status. With scorching heat, tyre-shredding rocks, and mountainous stages north of Athens, it pushed competitors to the edge. But for Aussie rising star Taylor Gill, it was a rally that tested his patience, precision, and perseverance, and he walked away [...]
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 [...]
NSW Rally Championship – A Shortened Season, A Big Battle Ahead
By John McCredie The 2025 Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship has taken some unexpected twists, and as we head into the final two rounds, the fight for the title looks more intriguing than ever. With the Lazer Rally of the Bay cancelled due to wet weather, the championship has effectively become a four-round sprint, and only two of those rallies are left to decide who will be crowned champion. Who will win the 2025 NSW [...]
