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.
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 [...]
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 [...]
Mitsubishi Triton 2011 Review
When buying a second hand car, the Mitsubishi Triton is a popular choice for the four wheel drive enthusiast and we’re going to take a quick look at this very impressive Ute. That’s what we call them in Australia, so if you’re from elsewhere, you might know this off-road warrior as a utility or pickup truck. Today we are looking at a pre-loved 2011, GLX 2.5 Diesel MN model. With its curved lines and wide [...]
Mitsubishi Pajero NP 2002 Review
The Mitsubishi Pajero is a very popular four-wheel drive in Australia, and whilst many of them are just glorified wagons to pick up the kids from school, as an off roader, they go alright. Today, we’re going to take a look at the very first NP model Pajero as a second-hand buy. And the model we’re reviewing is a 3.5 litre, Petrol, top of the Range, very late 2002, Exceed. Mitsubishi designed a monocoque body for [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Need a Rally Fix? Here Are the Events Left for 2025!
If you’re a rally tragic, you’re in luck... there’s still plenty of high-octane action left before the year wraps up. From iconic coastal stages and flat-out forestry sprints, to multi-day endurance marathons and grassroots club challenges, the rest of 2025 is packed with unmissable events. You can expect: Sweeping forest stages that demand precision and bravery. Fast, flowing gravel roads where commitment pays off. Technical mountain climbs that test both driver and machine. Coastal blasts [...]
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 [...]
Redhead and Winwood-Smith Win Coffs Coast Rally Finale as NSW Titles Decided
The 2025 Quality Accounting Coffs Coast Rally delivered a thrilling finale to the Shamrock Haulage NSW Rally Championship, with Josh Redhead and Ray Winwood-Smith taking a hard-fought outright victory after a day of challenges, comeback drives, and championship drama on the Coffs Coast. The Redhead Motorsport crew’s weekend didn’t start smoothly. In Heat 1, their Hyundai i20 suffered engine issues that forced the team to turn off the anti-lag system, robbing the car of valuable turbo [...]
