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.
Irish Rally Icon Frank Kelly to Join Lazer Rally of the Bay Field in Spectacular Australian Return
The 2025 Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship just got a serious dose of international flavour, with Irish rally legend Frank Kelly confirming he will contest the Lazer Rally of the Bay on August 2, bringing his legendary 1977 Ford Escort Mk2 “Baby Blue” to the forests of Batemans Bay. This exciting development follows Kelly’s standout visit to Australian rallying at the Forest Rally in Western Australia, where he competed in Round Two of the EROAD [...]
Green Light for AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay
The 2020 running of the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay has now received a ‘Green Light’ from Motorsport Australia. The final approval was given to North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC) based on the event falling within the Motorsport Australia ‘Return to Race Strategy’, which is approved by the NSW State Government. Whilst NSSCC has been pushing ahead with plans for the Rally, there was always the possibility that further restrictions could have been [...]
Stilling ready for the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay
Photo by Raine O’Keeffe AAfter a successful 2019 debut season, Chris Stilling is eager for the restart of the 2020 rally season with the first event at Batemans Bay on 4 July. Stilling emerged on the rally scene late in 2019 with his first event as a rally driver at the Narooma rally in which he won the event’s ACT novice and NSW clubman awards. He went on to win a number of awards at the [...]
Marco Jansen adds AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay to his bucket list
The Central Queensland pairing of Marco Jansen and Cameron McIntosh are making an epic 19-hour journey to compete at the AMH Automotive Group Rally of the Bay. Jansen has been competing in rally events for many years, starting in a Golf Mark 1 and progressing through VW competition cars until purchasing his current car, an ex-works VW Polo. Having now owned this car for several years and with work commitments that have kept him out of [...]
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 permanent memories from [...]
4WD Trip to Mt Walker
This 4WD trip has both easy and hard sections and will provide enough challenges for both the novice and experienced off-roader! Back in 2010 we ventured out with the team from ARB Penrith on another one of their customer drive days and at the top of this post you can watch the full video. ARB Penrith run a few of these events each year and it's a great opportunity for their customers to go out [...]
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 [...]
Hoy Triumphs at 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay as Sullens Takes Championship Lead Batemans Bay
The forests surrounding Batemans Bay delivered a thrilling day of rallying as the 2026 Lazer Rally of the Bay produced fast competition, dramatic retirements, impressive comeback drives and a major change at the top of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship standings. Organised by the North Shore Sporting Car Club, the event hosted Round 3 of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, Round 3 of the NSW Clubman Rally Series and Round 3 of the [...]
All in the Family – Brads 1978 Range Rover
This article is the first of our user submitted stories. If you want to be featured, just send us an email or contact us via our Facebook page. Brad Clayton’s 1978 Range Rover is the two door variety and has been affectionately named ‘sofie’ ever since it was registered. The name doesn’t have any real significance other than a reference to the number plate. It’s been a daily drive since it was registered and has been in the family [...]
