Sebastien Loeb has said that it is 'wrong' tactics played such a key role in deciding the outcome of the Rally of Turkey this weekend, the final round in the World Rally Championship before the summer break.
Loeb was forced to play the 'road sweeper' on both days one and two, after Mikko Hirvonen, Jari-Matti Latvala and Gigi Galli all slowed in the final stage on Friday night in order to ensure they didn't have to run first in the order on the second leg.
Those tactical manoeuvres 'gifted' Seb the overnight lead, but he soon lost the position on Saturday morning, as he had to clean the roads and cope with the worst of the conditions.
The Frenchman eventually came home in third position on Sunday and with Hirvonen winning, Seb drops to second in the drivers' championship, 3 points adrift.
"It's not nice to clean the road, but I think if you look at the tactics it's really good [how it worked for Ford]. They are first and second [at the finish]. The regulation is not completely right though," said the four-time world champion, who admitted on Friday he would have done the same had he been in that same position.
"For the sport it's not so nice to see that, but it's normal for Ford to use it. Everybody is talking about the tactics - it would be nice to talk about the speed. Something is a bit wrong in my view. In this rally, Ford played it well and we lost. It is normal."
Citroen boss Olivier Quesnel was definitely not impressed with Ford's 'go slow' measures and he voiced his disapproval in Friday's end of day press conference, pointing out that Loeb doesn't need to do such tricks to win.
"I think for us what happened is good news, because that means Seb and Citroen are very difficult to beat and they [Ford] need to use special things," said Quesnel. "I don't think it is fair play.
"I know Malcolm told me in Greece that Seb is the cleverest driver and so I know why he did it tonight [Friday]. But what I can say is in seven rallies [this year] we have won five of them and we just let Sebastien drive fast - and that is all. We don't need anything else. I understand why Malcolm did it. He needs to win sometimes!"
