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.
Penny and Llewellyn to debut new car at AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay
Penny and Llewellyn testing the GC8. PHOTO: Wishart Media The Jindabyne based Kosciuszko Automotive Rally Team is looking forward to showcasing a new car at the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay. The Alpine based team of Andrew Penny and Rhys Llewellyn compete at all levels of rallying in Australia and in 2019 they won the ACT Rally Series. They also won the final round of the MTA NSW Rally Championship, an event that the [...]
O’Malley’s Narooma nightmare: Inside the single-pin fault that cost a championship charge
PHOTOS: Roy Meuronen Photography James O’Malley and co-driver Jono Forrest will head to Batemans Bay with plenty to fight for when they contest the 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay on Saturday, 25 July. The single-day event is the third round of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship and will provide the O’Malley Rally Team with an important opportunity to recover from a disappointing result at the previous round in Narooma. O’Malley and Forrest completed [...]
Henry and Buccini Battle Through Mechanical Gremlins to Finish Rally Queensland
Cameron Henry and Claire Buccini have completed a gritty and determined run at the 2025 Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland, overcoming a series of mechanical issues to reach the finish line in their 2015 Subaru WRX. Backed by Virtual Security Guard and Buccini Transport, the duo faced a tough weekend in the Queensland Rally Championship (QRC) field, with their rally experience tested from the very first loop. Their campaign began with high hopes after recce, where [...]
XWC – Winch Action from Xtreme Winch Challenge
A fine and Sunny Saturday Morning would greet the ARB Xtreme Winch Challenge competitors and it was off to Special Stage 4 to get things started for the day. Rod and Russell Rathbone would be the first to tackle the stage. Starting first and the fresh morning air must have helped, as the Rathbone boys would take the stage win with 100 points, leaving the rest of the teams fighting for the minor places. One of [...]
Rally of the Bay – Drama and Crashes!
Story by Neil Blackbourn and Pictures by Dave King Any rally around the Batemans Bay Area is tough and demanding on cars and crews. Not to much in the way of room beside any of the roads, and lots of twists, turns and rocks to catch you out if just a little off line. But the action from Saturday’s 2019 edition of the MTA NSW Rally Championship, incorporating the Geelong Hino Victorian Rally Championship was [...]
Toyota Prado 2003 Review
The second hand 4wd market is huge in Australia and today we’ll be reviewing a 2003 Toyota Landcruiser Prado Grande. In 2003, Toyota introduced this new model and it was a significant upgrade to the previous version and featured new styling from a design out of Toyotas European Design Studio. In addition to the styling, this 4WD comes packed with many other features, but not all the features of the Grande are available on the [...]
COMEUP Xtreme Winch Challenge Series Round 2 – 2016
The second round of the 2016 Comeup Xtreme Winch Challenge series was held on the last weekend of June in what turned out to be a very muddy and cold three-day event. The winching competition was held at Mt Borah, 18km north west of the small township of Manilla in central New South Wales. With temperatures lucky to reach double digits and snow falling in the surrounding localities, seven teams lined up to start the [...]
Finke River Camping – Northern Territory
You're on an outback adventure and you need the best of the best when it comes to camping. Well make sure you put two mile camp on your list! The banks of the Finke River is one of the best places to camp in the MacDonnell Ranges. The 2 mile camping spot located at Glen Helen, 140km west of Alice Springs is a 4wd based camping spot right on the Finke. This camping spot is [...]
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 [...]
