Todt: Rally fans must be educated on safety

A Spanish fan was killed when Hayden Paddon's Hyundai i20 WRC slid off the road on the opening stage of last week's event.

"It's very sad. It should have been avoidable," said Todt.

"In life you must have discipline and if you don't have discipline you must have respect.

"Motorsport is dangerous if everybody is not working in the same direction.

"I am very sorry for the family of the victim and I am sorry for the family of rallying.

"I hope this makes people more aware about safety if they are coming to see this great show.

"People must be educated and follow instructions. The consequences can be horrible and people need to learn."

FIA rally director Jarmo Mahonen played down any suggestion that the increased speed of the 2017 World Rally Cars was a factor in the accident.

Having begun an investigation into the crash, Mahonen told Autosport: "I say to you what I have said to everybody who works with the FIA: calm down, we have to look at the investigation first and then we look at what can be done.

"This is the launch of the new generation car and, of course, they are a little bit faster.

"We are going to get the people who are not inside the sport who will start to complain about the speed.

"This [crash] is nothing to do with the new regulations. It would have happened the same with the [slower] Group N car."

Another spectator who was present on SS1 and close to the scene of the crash told Autosport: "It was 20 or 25 minutes before an ambulance came and five minutes after that the helicopter arrived.

"The place where the spectator was standing was not signed as a no-go area.

"Just before this corner, there were more people standing in what looks to be a dangerous area."

Due to its ongoing investigation, the Monte Carlo Rally organiser, the Automobile Club de Monaco, declined to comment beyond the statement it issued just hours after the accident last week.