1989 marks a year of great upheaval for the small French team Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (AGS). Despite a decent 1988 season in which the team's sole driver, Philippe Streiff, often competed with mid-field cars and frequently came close to scoring points, Henri Julien decided to sell the majority stake of the team to French entrepreneur Cyril de Rouvre, retaining only the honorary title of president. De Rouvre, already the owner of a team in the lower formulas, initiated a significant organizational reshuffle. The first consequence was the departure of long-time designer Christian Vanderpleyn, who had designed every AGS car since 1970, who moved to Coloni. As a result, development of the new AGS JH24 was entrusted to new technical director Claude Galopin, who arrived from Ligier. However, progress was significantly slowed due to differing views between the two engineers.
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| AGS JH24, Gabriele Tarquini Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian GP 1989 |
The 1989 season therefore began with the previous year's car, the JH23, now equipped with the updated Ford-Cosworth V8 DFR engine, replacing the underperforming DFZ used earlier. This season also saw the team fielding two cars for the first time under its new ownership, with the loyal French driver Philippe Streiff confirmed as lead driver, joined by German rookie Joachim Winkelhock, brother of the late Manfred Winkelhock. Sadly, the car was involved in a tragic event: during a test session ahead of the opening Brazilian Grand Prix, Streiff suffered a horrific accident that left him with severe spinal injuries, confining him to a wheelchair.
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| AGS JH23B, Gabriele Tarquini Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1989 |
In Brazil, AGS raced with only Winkelhock, while the unfortunate Streiff was replaced from the second race onwards by Italian driver Gabriele Tarquini. Although the JH23B was a transitional car, it earned AGS its second and final championship point, thanks to Tarquini’s sixth-place finish in the Mexican Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Claude Galopin continued development of the new car, which debuted halfway through the season at the British Grand Prix. The sole JH24 available was entrusted to Tarquini, who used it only at Silverstone before reverting to the JH23B for the following race. Once the JH24 was further refined, it returned to the track at the Hungarian Grand Prix, again with Tarquini, and from the Belgian Grand Prix onward was also driven by Frenchman Yannick Dalmas, who had replaced Winkelhock. The German rookie had failed to make it through Friday pre-qualifying on all seven attempts.
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| AGS JH24, Yannick Dalmas Hungaroring, Hungarian GP 1989 |
The JH24 project was both interesting and innovative, featuring numerous new solutions and a modern use of thermoplastic materials to reinforce carbon fiber, along with a redistribution of weight and a sleeker, lower profile. Visually, it differed greatly from the JH23, with a longer, more pointed nose and, most notably, a fully enclosed rear end. The air intake above the driver’s head and the arched engine cover extended back to conceal the gearbox and suspension, giving the car a sleek and elegant appearance. Unfortunately, 1989 and 1990 were the years of the notorious pre-qualifying sessions, a brutal filter into which AGS fell midway through the season due to poor results, despite Tarquini’s point in Mexico.
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| AGS JH24, Gabriele Tarquini Silverstone, British GP 1989 |
The JH24 never managed to escape that purgatory, revealing all its limitations, most likely stemming from insufficient development time, which prevented resolution of numerous issues. The most critical problem was the cooling system, which failed to prevent engine overheating, thereby limiting performance. The JH24 was also used in the first two races of 1990 but, in the fourteen occasions in which it was taken to the track by Tarquini and Dalmas, never once cleared pre-qualifying, dooming the small French team to yet another challenging season in 1990.
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