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.
FJ40 Modified Landcruiser Winch Truck
One of the most popular choices of Winch Truck, with both competitors and spectators is the Toyota FJ40. It's tough, it's extreme and it turns heads wherever it goes! Rod and Russell Rathbone have been stalwarts of the Xtreme Winch Challenge series and have shown their consistency and skill over the years in their Wyong Automatics Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser Comp Truck. At Round 1 of the 2016 COMEUP Xtreme Winch Challenge Series, Rod and Russell [...]
O’Malley Prepares for Rally of Bathurst After Breakthrough Season
Pictures by Roy Meuronen. After a standout first full season in the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, James O’Malley is preparing to return to the stages in 2026, beginning with the upcoming Shamrock Haulage Rally of Bathurst. O’Malley enjoyed a strong campaign in 2025, securing first place in the NSW Rally Championship for the 1601–2000cc two-wheel-drive class, finishing third in the outright two-wheel-drive standings, and placing sixth outright. The results marked an impressive milestone in [...]
Outback challenger getting practice at AMH Automotive Group Rally Of The Bay
Michael Ward Rallysport is looking forward to getting back out in the dirt at the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay. Driver Michael Ward and Co-Driver John Fraser will be using the event to start preparations for this year's Classic Outback Trial scheduled for later this year in November. "It's great to be able to get back into the driver's seat," Ward said. "We're using this event to start our preparations for the last Classic [...]
4WD Winch Challenge Heats up in Cold Conditions
With overnight temperatures dropping into the negatives, about the only thing hot at the recent round of the Comeup Xtreme Winch Challenge (XWC) series was the winching action! 12 teams lined up on a bitterly cold Friday night at the Springvale property in the small country town of Wallabadah, just south of Tamworth for Round 2 of the popular series. With three stages set to challenge teams in the dark, it would be the Toyota [...]
2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay – Live Blog
🕒 Update at 16:31 - 27.07.26 Clayton Hoy and Brad Jones took the win at the 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay, and the full story is well worth a read. Catch up on the Batemans Bay event here: https://onthedirt.com.au/hoy-triumphs-at-2026-lazer-rally-of-the-bay-as-sullens-takes-championship-lead-batemans-bay/ Give it a read and share it with your rally crew 👇 #LazerRallyOfTheBay #RallyNSW #NSWRC #ECCRS #BatemansBay 🕒 Update at 12:18 - 27.07.26 Did you enjoy the 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay? 📸 If you want to take home some [...]
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 [...]
Brinkman and Beckwith Locked In for Rally Queensland WRX Battle with KickAss Support
Queensland rally ace Glenn Brinkman and his Western Australian co-driver Scott Beckwith are set to take on the Subaru WRX Challenge this weekend at the 2025 Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland, held in Gympie from July 4–6. The reigning WRX Challenge champions of the one-make series return with serious intent and some serious competition. Proudly backed by KickAss Products, the pair will once again pilot their Subaru WRX in what’s shaping up to be a fierce contest. And while they [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
