Tiphanie Isnard: Dacia's 'Queen of the Desert' taking on Dakar

With of a group of around 60 people far out of their comfort zone in the Saudi Arabian desert, she says her role in facilitating relationships in Dacia’s Dakar squad is crucial.

“It’s different because the condition is completely different,” she says in comparing it to WRC as an example.

“We have no big motor room. We are not cooking. We are not in any comfort. We are not sleeping in a hotel. So the human side and the [emotional] security is really important. “It’s really tough – we are in Saudi Arabia for three weeks, so we have to bring a strong relationship.

“It’s quite intense. There are some characters [that you have to manage], nobody [in the team] is facing the same situation.

“[Just] a problem on the finger can have a huge impact, because we are far away hospital, and each person is really crucial.”

Continuing the theme of managing personalities, Isnard has some of the biggest in rallying under her wing.

Al-Attiyah is opinionated as he is brilliant on the sand dunes, while Loeb, who she knows well, is uncompromising in what he demands from his teams.

“They all have their own personality, their own experience,” she says.

“They are completely different. We don’t ask them to spend time together, to go on holidays together. We just want that they work together. And so far, it’s okay.

“But Sébastian, I’ve known him for 15 years. I can say just three words [to him] and you know exactly what I want. If he does the same, I understand. It’s automatic to the relationship.”

The Dacia team took a sensational 1-2 with Al-Attiyah and Loeb on its debut at the Morocco round of the World Rally Raid championship. However, Isnard says she identified the clear area for improvement at that event, particularly with team work being so crucial at the Dakar.

“We’re learning to build a team, and the communication is really important,” she says.

“We miss some communication in different ways. It didn’t impact the result [in Morocco], but in the Dakar it could.

“[In the team] we are Spanish, we are French, we are English, we are driver, engineer, technician.

“So to work together, communicate together, to be confident altogether takes time.”

If Dacia is to win the Dakar this year or the next, it will be another Isnard achievement in what is already a glittering career.

Though she says doesn’t she doesn’t view herself in this light, the Monegasque concedes inspiration by other women could be taken from all she’s done in motor sport, reflecting on the difficulties of her own journey.

“It’s not my goal, but if some women can be inspired and say ‘Yes, it’s possible,’ [then] you can do it. You can be accepted, you can be a leader, just because you are passionate, you are professional, and you are a part of the team. You can do it – it’s just a question of work.

“I feel it’s been quite hard to make my place, to take time to accept me as a team principal, but it’s part of my motor sports life since I started 20 years ago.

“It was the same when I was logistic manager, when I was team manager. It takes time to have our own place.

“But when we build the confidence, when we build the relationships, it’s okay after that. I am professional. I am part of the motor sport world. That’s it.”