Rallye Monte Carlo organisers have confirmed the tragic death of a spectator during the incident that caused SS1 cancellation.
A statement issued in the early hours of Friday morning read the following:

'The Automobile Club de Monaco regrets to advise further details following incident of the car #4 (Paddon/Kennard) in SS 1.

The spectator was transported by helicopter from the stage to hospital in Nice. Despite the best efforts of the medical staff, the spectator has sadly died.

An investigation has commenced into the incident and all involved parties will provide assistance to the authorities.

Everyone associated with the event extends their deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends and individuals affected.'

All at WRC.com and WRC Promoter extend their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victim.

Opening round of 2017 WRC hasn't been the smoothest, with cancellation of first selective section of Rallye Monte Carlo, after Kiwi Hayden Paddon rolled his Hyundai I20 Coupe WRC and blocked the road.

The Kiwi driver went off on a left-hand bend close to the end of the 21.25km Entrevaux - Ubraye test.
With the car blocking the asphalt road, the stage was initially stopped by the rally organisers, before then being red flagged. The Hyundai team confirmed that Paddon and co-driver John Kennard were uninjured.
Rally organisers have issued a statement confirming that emergency services were called to assist a spectator.
‘‘SS 1 has been cancelled due to the crash of Paddon and Kennard. The crew is unharmed. A spectator passed out. The emergency services have been called to rescue him," it read.

Thierry Neuville took the early lead of Rallye Monte-Carlo after Thursday night's two selective sections, and put his Hyundai 7.8 seconds clear of Sebastian Ogier Ford Fiesta WRC.

The Belgian's i20 Coupe WRC performed well on the opening pair of asphalt stages that were largely dry and devoid of any meaningful snow and ice. He was quickest on both tests, despite the handling of his brand-new car not being completely to his liking.

"Everything was okay, but the car was moving a bit too much on the super soft tyres. I didn't like that," Neuville explained. "But I wasn't really pushing and the time was still good. I think there are some improvements we can make for tomorrow."

Ogier's new career as an M-Sport World Rally Team driver got off to an understandably cautious start with the reigning world champion having only spent a limited amount of time testing his new Ford Fiesta WRC. But he was happy with his and the car's performance on the opening pair of tests.

The Frenchman said: "I definitely took it on the safe side. It's hard to find the limit in these conditions. I'm sure we can go faster but these are the first stages of the year and the aim is to be safe."

Neuville and Ogier were the only two drivers to complete the opening two stages in their entirety after Hayden Paddon's roll on SS1 forced the cancellation of the 21.25km test at Entrevaux - Ubraye. All of the crews running behind the accident are expected be awarded a notional time for stage one by the organisers.

When the action got back under way, Juho Hänninen gave the brand-new Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team something to smile about. The Finn's Toyota Yaris WRC was third fastest on SS2 and Hänninen's performance was even more impressive given that his more experienced team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala was only in ninth place.

"It was not an easy start because we had to wait 30 mins before the stage and everything was cold," Hänninen said. "I know the Yaris is good – it's up to the driver to perform now!"

Kris Meeke's new Citroën C3 WRC narrowly edged out Ott Tänak's Fiesta for fourth place, while Welshman Elfyn Evans netted sixth place on his return to the driving seat of an M-Sport prepared World Rally Car.

Craig Breen was next up in his 2016-spec Citroen DS 3, while Dani Sordo and Latvala completed the World Rally Car leaderboard.

Citroën's third factory car of Sébastien Lefebvre failed to make it to the end of SS2 after stopping in the stage with an unknown mechanical issue.

WRC world champion Sebastian Ogier set the pace in Wednesday evening's shakedown at Rallye Monte-carlo, in his first appearance behind the wheel of the Ford Fiesta.

The Frenchman, appearing in public for the first time in M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta, set the pace on his first run through the 3.35km test just outside the town.

He was 4.2sec quicker than Andreas Mikkelsen’s WRC 2 specification Skoda Fabia R5. Ott Tänak, M-Sport team-mate to Ogier, was a further 1.9sec behind.
Jari-Matti Latvala provided Toyota with a successful opening day back in the WRC by finishing fourth in his Yaris, 1.0sec behind Tänak.

Hyundai team-mates Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo filled the top six in i20 Coupes.
Conditions were mainly dry, in contrast to the snow expected on the higher altitude special stages during Friday and Saturday’s second and third legs.
Most drivers opted to save their studded tyres for the rally, using either unstudded winter tyres or super soft rubber, which is unlikely to be needed during the rally itself.

As a result, shakedown gave few clues as to the performance level of the various teams.
“We chose to protect our winter tyres for the rally,” said Citroën’s Kris Meeke, whose quickest time was 20sec slower than Ogier and slowest of all the 2017-specification cars.
“We went on a slick, which is completely the wrong choice, but we want to keep our tyres for the rally."

"Normally we have enough studs, but in shakedown here, if you use them and you get a puncture or you damage one, that’s one gone and that can put you at a disadvantage.”