Barrie Hinchliffe wasn’t a film maker. He was an artist. He painted pictures, took you on a journey, showed you the world. Then told you who’d won the rally.
Before finding the finest restaurant in town.
Nobody told a story like Hinchliffe. Nobody could. Nobody else was taken into the drivers’ confidence like he was. But having the raw materials is one thing, being able to bring them together in film form with intelligence, emotion, passion and a deep love of the sport is quite another.
That was where Barrie made his magic. It was a magic show screened on a Saturday, firstly by ITV, and then by the BBC with Steve Rider orchestrating and conducting.
Hinchliffe and Rider were responsible for shaping a generation of rally fans. And now, thanks to an agreement between DirtFish Media and Racing Past Media (RPM), they will do the same for the next generation.
There's plenty of Group B magic stashed in the RPM archives. DirtFish will be blowing the dust off the boxes and sprinkling that magic around the internet
Hinchliffe, who died in 2021, accumulated a vast archive of rally footage spanning three decades, including some exceptional and previously unseen footage from the four years that were the Group B era. That material had passed to RPM.
DirtFish Media owner Steve Rimmer has concluded a deal with RPM to take ownership of what’s undoubtedly one of the greatest rally film archives in the sport’s history. DirtFish and Rider will work together to repackage that content, bringing to life one of the most talked-about times in world rallying.
Rimmer said: “Steve Rider presenting Barrie Hinchliffe’s films from around the world were a Saturday afternoon staple for me. Like so many others, this footage was a key part of my rally education.
“To have so much of this content with us here at DirtFish Media is both an honor and a privilege. But it also brings with it a responsibility to make sure we keep the history of our great sport alive. I know Eliot [Barnard, DirtFish head of video] has plans to work his magic with Steve [Rider] and I can’t wait to see what’s coming.”
Hinchliffe (left) in his element, directing operations from the side of the stage. The footage from the camera? Available soon on DirtFish
Rider added: “We’ve watched with interest as DirtFish Media has grown in the last four and a half years and we’re absolutely certain we’ve found the right home for Barrie’s archive. Barrie was all about telling the story with plenty of color – that’s just what DirtFish does. We’re going to have a lot of fun going through the archive, reliving the memories and telling some stories.”
The acquisition of the Hinchliffe archive is just one aspect of DirtFish Media’s development. Our digital content is constantly evolving, with the next step for DirtFish Live being prepared and trialed in time for Rally Italia Sardegna later this month.
