Phone-wielding 'idiot' almost wiped out by rally car

Extraordinary footage has captured the moment a rally spectator’s audacious stunt almost saw him wiped out at high speed.

The man was caught on the coverage of the Rally Australia event lying beside the road, smartphone in hand, in a prohibited area on day two of the World Rally Championship finale in Coffs Harbour.

The rogue spectator came dangerously close to being crashed into by Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who flew by at around 125kmh – narrowly avoided him.

The man has reportedly been identified by police and is undergoing questioning.

Gobsmacked viewers took aim at the man’s ridiculous stunt on social media.

Spectator safety is a major focus of Rally Australia, with strict measures in place at the various viewing points for the 60,000 fans who infiltrate the NSW north coast’s forests and bushland each year.

But the measures didn’t stop two men from finding themselves in a similar situation last year when they wrapped themselves around road-side rocks dangerously close to the action.

The rally was also forced to act after a tractor was driven onto a stage on Friday without authorisation, causing Neuville’s teammate Andreas Mikkelsen to swerve into a ditch. His Hyundai sustained race-ending damage.

There have been numerous spectator deaths on the WRC circuit, most recently in Monte Carlo last year.

The championship concludes on Sunday, with France’s Sebastien Ogier best placed to secure a sixth-straight world title.