I’ve always loved July.
Summer vibes are in full swing in the northern hemisphere where I live, Rally Finland is getting ever closer and it’s the month of my birthday and my anniversary too – which of course is the only reason I could ever love July.
But this year comes with an extra bit of exciting news to share.
I feel incredibly self-indulgent doing this, but head of media David Evans was very keen that I did: what you’re reading now is my first published piece as the editor of DirtFish.com.
In rally journalism terms, that’s the equivalent of landing a factory Rally1 seat at Toyota, Hyundai or M-Sport Ford. It’s an honor that I promise isn’t lost on me.
Rallying is the only language I’ve ever really known. Right from my formative years watching the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland as a spectator (sorry for mentioning that rally yet again), this sport has had my heart.
I’ve always been more Mark Higgins than Mark Wahlberg. More Séb Loeb than Seb Coe. I still remember one particular story I wrote about my weekend at primary school where my teacher tried to suggest I had made a spelling mistake, correcting Petter Solberg to ‘Peter’.
I could only smile to myself.
Like all of you who regularly read, listen, watch and engage with our content here on DirtFish, rallying is a passion for me. I can’t ever see that changing.
Never did I ever think that it would also be a profession, though. Let alone that I would land myself with a role as esteemed, and with a brand as great, as this.
Sometimes that makes it difficult. Like with any job, the pressures and demands can weigh on your shoulders – and that won’t be getting any easier for me now I’m editor! – so it can be easy to forget just how fortunate I am to be in this position.
But the opportunity to write something like this allows me to take a 360-degree view and really appreciate just what a privilege I have.
I have so many people to thank for enabling me to get to this point – I won’t go full Oscars speech and name them all, but you all know who you are.
But I’m not here on my own. As far as I see it, we’re all in this together. I’m merely the moderator of a passionate community which continues to grow day by day, year by year.
This isn’t my website, it’s yours.
Strip it all back and we’re all just rally fans. Ever since DirtFish Media’s inception in 2020, we’ve simply strived to create the best content rally fans could ask for.
It’s our job to bring you all the latest news and developments from the rallying world, but we can’t do that without your interest.
And yes it’s our job to write and research some quality features, to record in-depth podcasts, to shoot exclusive videos, but we can’t do that without your direction and enthusiastic support.
As with anything, sometimes we don’t get it absolutely right. Maybe we missed something, or approached it in a way that didn’t quite work for you.
I want to use this moment to encourage feedback and conversation. Send me an email (lukebarry@dirtfish.com) and let me know what you’d like to see from DirtFish going forwards.
I’ve got ideas. We’ve got ideas. But I want to hear yours. Together we can continue to make DirtFish the ultimate hub of all things rallying. I thank you for your support, and can’t wait for this next chapter to begin. And it begins with only one instruction.
Flat to the square right.
