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.
Rally of the Bay – Review Part 1
PHOTOS: Roy Meuronen The 2020 running of the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay was a very different event to previous years. With a worldwide pandemic closing borders and restricting travel, the Rally of the Bay needed a comprehensive COVID plan in place before it could even start. With rallying and other forms of motorsport in a forced break, the event attracted a seriously competitive field of over 80 cars. Headlining the entry list [...]
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 [...]
2026 Sunraysia Safari – Live Blog
🕒 Update at 08:28 - 09.09.26 And away we go at Sunraysia 🚗💨 Day 1 of the Safari is underway, with the AUTO field rolling out for a proper outback workout. Three stages on the menu today, and the first one is a long one, so no easing into this caper. In the shot, car 308 McNay / McNay heads out in the Holden Commodore Ute, with 309 Ross / Hague queued up behind in another Commodore Ute. Plenty to [...]
The Oodnadatta Track South Australia
The Oodnadatta Track follows the route of the old Ghan Railway line and runs from the North of the Flinders Ranges starting in the town of Maree through to the small town of Marla on the Stuart Highway in South Australia. Typically most tourists travel from the south eastern states through to the Northern Territory on the bitumen roads, but the alternative is to use this gravel track and skirt around the bottom of Lake [...]
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 [...]
Wiedman Takes Victory in a Thrilling Opening Round of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship
The Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship kicked off in spectacular fashion over the weekend at the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally of Canberra, delivering intense competition across the field. Queenslander Josh Wiedman and co-driver KJ Miller emerged as the standout performer, taking the overall victory and establishing Wiedman as a serious contender for the 2025 NSW Rally Championship. Having initially been overlooked as a NSW competitor due to an event administrative error, Wiedman’s speed and consistency [...]
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 [...]
Stanford Motorsport to contest Clubman Series at AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay
Stanford Motorsport are preparing their Datsun Stanza and getting ready for the Techworkz Automotive NSW Clubman Rally Series, which kicks off this weekend at the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay. Driver Dennis Stanford from West Nowra will be joined by Sydney based Co-Driver, Tim Woods for the 2020 running of the Rally of the Bay and the team are hoping for a good result in their first event for the season. “We won the [...]
Redhead Motorsport Ready to Convert Speed into Results at Narooma
Josh Redhead and co-driver Ray Winwood-Smith head to this weekend's Toyota Gazoo Racing Narooma Forest Rally determined to convert their proven pace into a strong result after a frustrating opening round of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship. The pair arrive in Narooma on the back of an impressive fifth outright finish at the recent Australian Rally Championship round in Queensland, demonstrating they have the speed to challenge some of Australia's best rally crews. That performance [...]
