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.
The Mav – Ford Maverick Winch Truck
Peter Bannister competes in a 1992 model Ford Maverick, affectionately call “The Mav”. He and Navigator Josh Flynn were last seen competing at round 1 of the 2016 COMEUP Xtreme Winch Challenge series, but due to a few issues on Friday night and Saturday, could only manage to finish 7th outright. The Mav has a Ford badge on it, but is essentially a Nissan Patrol after Ford rebadged the model for sale in Australia back [...]
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 [...]
MacDonald Valley – NSW
The MacDonald valley is an easy trip close to Sydney with some great scenery and simple river crossings. Suited to any type of 4wd, and even the adventurous 2wd, the track follows the MacDonald River from St Albans. There are a number of crossings of the MacDonald River along the way and some of these are bridges, whilst towards the end they become open sand based river crossings. I would certainly not attempt this trip [...]
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 [...]
Sunraysia Safari 2025: Australia’s Great Outback Rally Returns for 1200 Kilometres of Brutal Beauty
The 2025 Sunraysia Safari Cross Country Rally is locked and loaded, with the final route mapped, entries closed, and the excitement building toward its September 10–13 showdown. With close to 1,200 km of competitive stages spread across four intense days in the rugged NSW outback, this year’s edition is shaping up to be one of the most competitive and captivating in the event’s history. Rally Revival with a Legacy: Launched in 2017, the Sunraysia Safari [...]
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 [...]
Reeves to return to Yarra Valley Stages
Leading Victorian rally driver Brendan Reeves will return to the gravel later this month at the Yarra Valley Stages Rally. After a successful run at last year’s Western Victoria Crane Truck Yarra Valley Stages rally, Leading Victorian rally driver Brendan Reeves will return to the event later this month. With co-driver Ben Searcy sitting in the co-drivers seat, the pair are likely to be at the pointy end of the field in a MK2 Ford Escort. [...]
The Accent on Working Dogs at Bonalbo
It was a completely new event to all at the 2019 Accent Benchtops Working Dog Rally. A joint MTA NSW Rally Championship, Queensland Championship and East Coast Classic Rally Series event that saw 49 cars and crews take to the stages around the small northern NSW town of Bonalbo on a crisp July Saturday morning. The battle for the MTA NSW Rally Championship in particular was rejoined, as championship leaders Richard Shimmon and co driver [...]
Narooma Rally Set to Ignite the South Coast on September 13, 2025
The beautiful Eurobodalla region is set to echo with the sound of rally engines when the 2025 Techworkz Automotive Stages and Horizon Apartments Narooma Forest Rally hit the forests on Saturday, September 13. This action-packed event is the penultimate round of the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship and the East Coast Classic Rally Series (2WD and 4WD), while also hosting the final round of the NSW Clubman Rally Series and the penultimate round of the [...]
