Famed rallying film archive finds new home

Barry Hinchliffe Productions (BHP) coverage of rallying was the stand-out in the 1970s and 1980s, and even today, many of the films produced remain favourites to generations of rally fans.

Hinchliffe passed away in 2021 and his archive was bought by Racing Past Media (RPM), a firm led by British TV presenter Steve Rider who worked with Hinchliffe in the production and presentation of some of rallying’s most memorable films.

Along with the brilliant footage, Rider’s voice became just as synonymous with international rallying coverage.

Now, the archive has been purchased by DirtFish Media which, along with Rider, is digitising hundreds of hours of film and re-working the classic content.

“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,” DirtFish owner, Steve Rimmer, said.

“To have so much of this content with us here at DirtFish Media is both an honor and a privilege.”

Steve Rider added: “We’re absolutely certain we’ve found the right home for Barrie’s archive. Barrie was all about telling the story with plenty of colour – 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.”