AGS JH22

**AGS JH22**
Constructor:	AGS
Designer:	Christian Vanderpleyn
Predecessor:	AGS JH21C
Successor:	AGS JH23
Technical specifications
Chassis:	CFRP monocoque
Wheelbase:	2870 mm
Weight:	520 kg
Tires:	Pirelli
statistics
Driver:	Pascal Fabre Roberto Moreno;
First start:	1987 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last start:	1987 Australian Grand Prix
World Cup points:	1
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-

The AGS JH22 was a Formula 1 racing car from the Provençal team Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (AGS), which was used in the 1987 Formula 1 season . Technically, it was based on its predecessor, the AGS JH21C , but - unlike this one - was driven by a naturally aspirated engine. With the JH22 AGS scored its first world championship point in Formula 1.

technology

The AGS JH22 was like all AGS racing cars before a design by Christian Vanderpleyn . Apart from the drive technology, the JH22 was identical to the JH21C. It used the same monocoque, the same suspension and the same brakes as the JH21C, which in turn were based on Renault technology and some were now four years old. The exterior modifications included lower side pods. Vanderpleyn changed the design of the engine cover several times over the course of the season. Initially, the car carried a rectangular air box that was installed on a stand above the engine cover. This outdated-looking design was later replaced by a low, box-shaped airbox that stretched the full width of the engine.

The JH22 was powered by the 3.5-liter eight-cylinder Cosworth DFZ engine, a naturally aspirated engine whose use had been permitted again since the beginning of the 1987 season. The engine was prepared by Heini Mader Racing Components in Switzerland.

The JH22 was the slowest car in the starting field in 1987, but showed above-average reliability.

Copies

AGS manufactured two JH22 vehicles during the 1987 season. The first copy that was used at the beginning of the season was identical to the JH21C (chassis number 031) used in the previous year. The JH21C was adapted to the newly used naturally aspirated engine and received a new chassis number (032). His driver Pascal Fabre damaged the car so badly in an accident at the Österreichring that it could no longer be used for the rest of the season. It was rebuilt many years later and is now exhibited as AGS JH21C in the Manoir de l'Automobile in Lohéac , Brittany .

A second copy of the JH22 (chassis number 033) was built in the summer of 1987. It was originally intended for a second driver; after Fabre had destroyed the first JH22, it was the team's sole race car from the Italian Grand Prix . The JH22 (033) was converted in 1989 to accommodate a W-12 engine by Moteurs Guy Nègre (MGN). After being dismantled, this vehicle is now also in Lohéac.

Races

Comeback in AGS JH22: Roberto Moreno

AGS used the JH22 for all races in the 1987 season. Initially, the only driver was Pascal Fabre, who was able to qualify regularly until late summer and also reached numerous finishings, but regularly only managed very slow lap times and was mostly lapped several times. The only exception was the French Grand Prix , when Fabre set the fastest time of all naturally aspirated vehicles on the Mistral straight at Circuit Paul Ricard . After Fabre missed qualifying twice in the early autumn of 1987, he was replaced by Roberto Moreno for the last two races of the year . Moreno finished seventh at the Australian Grand Prix . As Ayrton Senna, who was placed in front, was disqualified due to the irregularity of his car, Moreno was classified as sixth. This gave the team the first world championship point in Formula 1 history. This placement meant that AGS was not subject to pre-qualification the following season .

In 1987, a rating limited to naturally aspirated vehicles was also carried out, the so-called Colin Chapman Cup . AGS was third in this brand classification behind Tyrrell and Larrousse .

The JH22 with MGN engine

In early 1989 the second JH22 (chassis number 033) received a W-12 engine from Moteurs Guy Nègre (MGN). Guy Nègre, the MGN founder, had designed an independent twelve-cylinder engine with three cylinder banks and rotary slide valves instead of valves. In the course of 1988 Nègre undertook numerous test bench tests and in 1989 he wanted to subject the engine to a practical test. To do this, he fitted an engine block into the second JH22 that AGS had provided.

The test drives took place in September 1989 on the Circuit Automobile du Grand Sambuc , a two-kilometer circuit near Aix-en-Provence . MGN did not mention the driver by name; the press release only spoke of a “regional test pilot”. The autohebdo magazine reported in its 602 issue that the test driver's name was Philippe Billot. There are no entries under the name Philippe Billot in the entry lists of smaller racing classes for the 1970s and 1980s. Nothing was published about the results of the test drives; neither the number of laps nor the lap times were known. The test drives were not suitable to arouse the interest of a team in Nègres engine, so that the MGN-W12 did not find its way into Formula 1. However, in 1990 he was briefly associated with a racing sports car from Norma Auto Concept that was to compete in the 1990 Le Mans 24-hour race .

Results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1987 Formula 1 season																		1	12.
France P. Fabre	14th	12	13	10	13	12	9	9	DNF	13	NC	DNQ	DNQ	DNF	DNQ
Brazil R. Moreno																DNF	6th

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
violet	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
red	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
White	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
Light Blue	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	^P / bold	Pole position
	_SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

literature

Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Cars, tracks and pilots. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars. Crowood Press, Marlborough 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. Chronosports, St. Sulpice 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French).

Individual evidence

^ Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945. 1994, p. 9.
↑ Motorsport news . Issue 13, 1987, p. 3.
^ Image of an early AGS JH22 at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1987.
↑ In terms of shape and dimensions, the air inlet was reminiscent of the Amon AF101 from Chris Amon Racing .
^ Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1. 2000, p. 103.
↑ The vehicle was shown to the public for the first time in Italy in 2005. It was named JH21D. AGS never produced a vehicle with this designation. The museum initially took on the incorrect name; since around 2009 the car has been called the JH21C there.
↑ Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. 1997, p. 382.
^ Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars. 2001, p. 8.
↑ Illustration of the converted JH22 with MGN motor on the website www.forix.com

[1] Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945. 1994, p. 9.

[2] Motorsport news . Issue 13, 1987, p. 3.

[3] Image of an early AGS JH22 at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1987.

[4] In terms of shape and dimensions, the air inlet was reminiscent of the Amon AF101 from Chris Amon Racing .

[5] Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1. 2000, p. 103.

[6] The vehicle was shown to the public for the first time in Italy in 2005. It was named JH21D. AGS never produced a vehicle with this designation. The museum initially took on the incorrect name; since around 2009 the car has been called the JH21C there.

[7] Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. 1997, p. 382.

[8] Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars. 2001, p. 8.

[9] Illustration of the converted JH22 with MGN motor on the website www.forix.com