AGS JH25

The AGS JH25 was a Formula 1 racing car from the Provençal team Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (AGS), which was reported in the 1990 Formula 1 season and - then under the name JH25B - in the 1991 season . It replaced the JH24 and was the last car with which AGS was able to participate in a race and reach the finish line.

background

The AGS JH25 was created in a time of upheaval that was characterized by unrest and uncertainty.

AGS had changed hands at the beginning of the Formula 1 season in 1989 : the French entrepreneur Cyril de Rouvre took the place of Henri Julien, who founded the racing team in 1968 and has since headed various motor sport classes. 1989 had been a problematic year from a sporting point of view. The team received new staff in many areas, which initially did not work well together. AGS played most of the season with the outdated JH23B , which had been developed under the direction of Julien and Christian Vanderpleyn . The results achieved in this way were not sufficient to prevent the team from slipping into the group of pre-qualifiers in the summer of 1989. The successor JH24 presented in late summer turned out to be a faulty design and made the situation even more difficult.

In January 1990, the team also changed its location, which at times had a paralyzing effect: It left the traditional Garage de l'Avenir in the Provençal town of Gonfaron and moved into new halls in neighboring Le Luc .

Not least because of the move, the development of a new car was delayed. Only after the establishment of the new workshop in January 1990 did Michel Costa begin the construction work; the first car was completed in April 1990.

technology

The JH25 designed by Michel Costa had a new monocoque that was slimmer than that of all its predecessors. The aerodynamics had been completely redesigned; it was perceived as an improvement over the JH24. The car had very low side pods and had small air intakes. The cooling system had also been improved. Apart from that, Costa inherited numerous mechanical components from previous models. This included the longitudinally arranged six-speed gearbox, which had already debuted in the JH23B in the spring of 1989, and the wheel suspension that Costa designed in the winter of 1989/90 and used with the two JH24s in the first race of the 1990 season. As in previous years, a Cosworth DFR eight-cylinder engine, which was prepared by Heini Mader Racing Components , served as the drive .

Five vehicles were created from the AGS JH25. Four were produced in 1990 (chassis numbers 040 to 043), one in 1991 (chassis number 044). With the vehicle no. 040, Yannick Dalmas suffered a serious accident during a private test before the first race, as a result of which the newly built car was completely destroyed.

Races

1990 season

AGS used two cars in 1990. As in the previous year, the drivers were Gabriele Tarquini and Yannick Dalmas . Both drivers were subject to pre-qualification up to the 1990 Hungarian Grand Prix. When the financially troubled Onyx-Monteverdi team withdrew from the world championship after this race , AGS moved up to the group of automatically pre-qualified teams.

The JH25 made its debut in the third race of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix . At that time, the car was not yet suitable for racing. Dalmas did not take part in the pre-qualification at all, Tarquini, on the other hand, went out on the slopes, but fell out before he could complete a timed lap due to a technical defect. In the following five races, each driver failed four times in the pre-qualification, and once each they managed to participate. Dalmas finished 17th in his home race . In the second half of the 1990 season the situation improved slightly, not least because the pre-qualification was no longer available. Each driver was able to qualify for a race three times. AGS achieved three finishings during this time. The best result was Dalmas' ninth place in the Spanish Grand Prix . This positioning, "which the team celebrated like a victory", was sufficient to free AGS from pre-qualification in the 1991 season as well.

1991 season

Was registered for two races by AGS in 1991: Stefan Johansson, third in the 1986 World Championship

AGS also used two cars in 1991. Initially, the drivers were Gabriele Tarquini and Stefan Johansson . After a change of ownership, however, the experienced Swede was replaced in April 1991 by the debutant Fabrizio Barbazza . Johansson and Barbazza did not qualify for any race, Tarquini was able to achieve three qualifications and one finish in the first four races. This was followed by a series of non-qualifications, which observers attributed primarily to the outdated material and the chaotic organization of the team.

At the Italian Grand Prix , the JH25 was replaced by the AGS JH27 designed by Christian Vanderpleyn , which was only entered for three races. After that, AGS stopped racing.

Race results: overview

AGS JH25 - Cosworth DFR V8

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1990 Formula 1 season																		0	-
Gabriele Tarquini	17th			DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNQ	DNF	DNPQ	13	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNF	DNPQ	DNF
Yannick Dalmas	18th			DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	17th	DNPQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNF	DNF	9	DNQ	DNQ

The season started with the previous model, the AGS JH24.

AGS JH25B - Cosworth DFR V8

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1991 Formula 1 season																		0	-
Gabriele Tarquini	17th	8th	DNF	DNQ	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
Stefan Johansson	18th	DNQ	DNQ
Fabrizio Barbazza				DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ

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)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	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

• Kevin Blick: Damon for a day . Top Gear, issue 8/1998, p. 110 ff.
• Patrice Burchkalter, Jean-Francois Galeron: Tout sur la Formule 1 1991 , Surrèsnes 1991, ISBN 2-87636-067-5
• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing , Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9
• David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001 , 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English)
• David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 , 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On the whole: Burchkalter, Galeron: Tout sur la Formule 1 1991, p. 72 (review of the years 1989 and 1990).
2. ↑ Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 418.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001, p. 8.
4. ↑ Hodges: Racing Cars from AZ after 1945, p. 10.
5. ↑ Motorsport Aktuell, issue 21/1990, p. 13.
6. ^ Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1, p. 105.
7. ^ Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1, p. 106.