Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives 1991 final act. This could be the summary of the last season in Formula 1 of the small French team that reached the top series in 1986, crowning Henri Julien's dream. At the beginning of the 1991 season the AGS team, now completely in the hands of Cyril de Rouvre, is on the verge of bankruptcy, without a sponsor able to cover the expenses for the ordinary administration and above all to guarantee the development of the car. The only budget available to the team is that guaranteed by the personal sponsors of the drivers initially involved, Stefan Johansson and Gabriele Tarquini, and is only sufficient for the first two American races of the season.
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| AGS JH27, Gabriele Tarquini, Estoril Portuguese GP |
This
difficult situation prevents the technical director Michel Costa from
completing the construction of the new "JH26", a project
that never leaves the desk of the French engineer, forcing the team
to start the season with a newly revised version of the car of the
previous year renamed JH25B, perhaps more to instill some courage in
the team than for the real changes made to the car. For the first
races in 1991, the single-seaters abandoned the elegant black livery
that characterized it in '90 for an anonymous white with blue inserts
which, despite no changes to the bodywork, makes the car completely
different at first sight than before.
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| AGS JH25B, Stefan Johansson, Phoenix USA GP |
After
the two races on the American continent, the situation for the French
team becomes desperate. In an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, De Rouvre
hastily starts negotiations with Larrousse to try to unite the two
teams, but when even this desperate attempt fails, the team declares
bankruptcy. Only the intervention of the Italian entrepreneurs
Patrizio Cantù and Gabriele Rafanelli, who take over the shares of
de Rouvre, save the small team at the last minute. The new Italian
property, which took over before the Imola race, is trying to
relaunch AGS with the addition of fresh forces. Patrizio Cantù is
already the owner of the Crypton Engineering team, a team that
participates in the Formula 3000 European Championship, and it is
precisely from Crypton that he draws reinforcements to relaunch the
ex-French team. One above all is the engineer Christian Vanderpleyn,
already known in Formula 1 for having designed and built all AGS cars
from 1970 to 1988 before moving to Coloni, Rial and Dallara and
ending, in 1990, at Crypton as a race engineer. The aerodynamicist
Mario Tollentino also comes from the Italian team, also with a past
in the top series where in the 1980s he collaborated with Chiti and
Ducarouge to build the Alfa Romeo Turbos and more recently with
EuroBrun and BMS-Dallara.
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| AGS JH25B, Fabrizio Barbazza, Montecarlo Monaco GP |
Fabrizio Barbazza, Crypton team driver in Formula 3000, is also promoted to Formula 1 starter, replacing Stefan Johansson, while Gabriele Tarquini retains his position as first driver. The new line-up makes its debut on the occasion of the third seasonal and first European race, run on the Imola circuit, still using the old JH25B always with the anonymous white/blue colors. Only in mid-season with the arrival of new small sponsors the car changes color, becoming blue with yellow and red inserts. Meanwhile, Vanderpleyn and Tollentino set aside Michel Costa's "JH26" project, left by the team, and design a new car, the JH27, which incorporates the new aerodynamic trends with a hint of a raised nose and less sinuous shapes than its sister JH25 but, at least on paper, more effective in terms of downforce.
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| AGS JH27, Olivier Grouillard, Montmelò Spanish GP |
The two chassis, signed 047 and 048, since probably the numbers 045 and 046 were reserved for the never assembled JH26, built and fine-tuned are ready only in the summer and make their debut in Monza. Unfortunately the results remain disappointing and the top driver Tarquini prefers to leave the team to move to Fondmetal after the Portuguese Grand Prix. His place is taken by Olivier Grouillard, coming from Fondmetal himself, who shows up at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, the latest race held by the AGS team. The chronic lack of sponsors and funds forces the team to raise the white flag and close its doors already from the next race where, despite registering only the single-seater from Barbazza, the team does not show up, thus closing a story that lasted six seasons with 2 points assets, the sixth place conquered by Roberto Moreno in Australia in 1987 and the sixth of Taquini in Mexico in 1989.
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