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.
Behnke Rallying to be back in the driver’s seat
Following a five-year hiatus from being behind the wheel, the Rally of the Bay on the 4th of July is set to see the return to the driver’s seat for Canberra rally competitor Mike Behnke. Over the past few months, Mike’s revitalised Honda Civic, which is undergoing a ground up refurbishment, has rapidly taken shape thanks to the help of members of the Light Car Club of Canberra and the Qirx Motorsports team. The group of [...]
NSW Development Rally Series – Datto Wins!
Michael and Erin Valantine achieved first outright in the 2017 Techworkz Automotive New South Wales Development Rally Series – or DRS. The MV Solar team of Father and Daughter, started out on a high, with a win at the first of the six-round series in their 2WD Datsun Stanza. The Singleton Automotive Caves Classic rally was the opening round, and a win here was exactly the start to the season Valantine was looking for. Suffering from [...]
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 [...]
Rally NSW Introduces Fast Track Documentation
Rally NSW is proud to unveil Fast Track Documentation, an innovative and near-contactless documentation checking process aimed at improving safety and efficiency for both competitors and event organisers. The Rally NSW Fast Track Documentation system has been under development for some time, with Rally NSW volunteers tasking themselves with developing a system that makes life easier for competitors entering events and reduces event organisers’ workloads. The scheme is voluntary. Competitors who choose to use the scheme [...]
FJ45 V8 Landcruiser Farmtruck Winch Machine
The COMEUP Xtreme Winch Challenge is a winching competition held in NSW and Queensland and we are featuring a few of the trucks that have competed at previous events. One fine example is the 1973 modified Landcruiser of Dave Burrows. Dave has been competing in these winching events for many many years with some great results. The 45 Series, affectionately known as the “Farm Truck” has a fuel injected 308 Holden motor stroked to 330cc. [...]
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, [...]
Richie Rallying to Support Batemans Bay
Shamrock Motorsport driver, Richie Dalton, will be looking to make it three wins in a row when he heads to Batemans Bay on the weekend of the 4th of July for the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay. Dalton and co-driver, Dale Moscatt, have won the event for the past two years and despite a very competitive line up at this years event, they are hoping for yet another victory. The factory Toyota Gazoo Racing [...]
Rally NSW – Development Rallying in Australia
Developing rallying in NSW is a key focus of the Rally NSW management team in 2017, and there has been some great competition in the Club Motorsport area, thanks to the Techworkz Development Rally Series (DRS). Rallying is a popular and exciting form of Motorsport that challenges man and machine against the clock. In recent years, we have seen a slow decline in entrants in Australia, but in New South Wales, there is a bit [...]
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 [...]
