AGS Formula 1, which now runs a driving school and events, launched the F1 ’90s Time Attack Mediterranean Challenge for F1 cars built between 1986 and 2000 and Formula 3000s from 1985 to 2000.
Four events are planned, starting this weekend during the Grand Prix de France historique at Paul Ricard.
The entry for Ricard includes two AGS chassis, a 1989 JH24 and a 1991 JH25, driven by 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Eric Helary and former British Formula Ford leader Geoffroy Horion respectively.
Former F3000 and IndyCar driver Laurent Redon, whose LRS organization organizes F1 driving experiences, will compete in a Jordan 197.
Later machines in the 11-car field include a pair of Prost AP02s and an Arrows A20, all from 1999.
Invitational entries include multiple BOSS GP champion Klaas Zwart in a 2004 Jaguar R5 and a 2005 Dallara T05 Formula-Renault 3.5 one-make.
A rarity in the field is a 1989 Rial ARC2 3.5 liter F1 car.
Toranosuke Takagi, Arrows A20, ahead of Olivier Panis, Prost AP02 Peugeot
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Entries for the Time Attack competition will increase for subsequent events, AGS events manager Cédric Laurent told Autosport.
He explained that a minimum of 16 cars are expected for the second round at the Charade circuit in France in July and up to 20 for the finale in November of the historic Moroccan GP at the Sidi Daoui circuit, which will be co -organized by AGS. .
“We only announced our series in February at Rétromobile in Paris [the classic car show]so there was no time and some cars were not ready in time for Paul Ricard,” he explained.
Potential entries for later in the season include the Leyton House CG901 owned by Richard Hope, which was showcased at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Peugeot-powered Jordan 195 that Steve Griffiths drove at the Goodwood circuit during the F1 demo in 2022 is also expected to be released in the series.
AGS, which also restores and operates historic cars including the JH24 and JH25 competing at Ricard, launched the 1990s F1 in response to demand from its customers, according to Laurent.
“There have been demonstrations of these cars,” said Laurent in reference to events organized by Peter Auto, Masters Historic Racing and Officina Caira.
Gabriele Tarquini, AGS JH24 Ford
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images
“But some of our customers were asking us if there was a place where they could compete with their cars rather than just demo.
“They didn’t like racing because there’s always a risk, so we started thinking about another type of competition and came up with the idea of Time Attack.
“The good thing is these cars are back on track, which I think people want to see.”
Laurent, however, does not rule out organizing races for cars in the future.
“We will ask our competitors what they want to do: do they want to continue Time Attack or do they want races? he said. “We will follow what they want to do.”
Points will be scored for every thousandth of a second a driver improves on a three-lap average between qualifying and the Time Attack final.
The difference between the times of the qualifying session and the final cannot exceed 103-110% depending on the circuits.
“We knew we didn’t want people to sandbag, and then we remembered that the 107% qualification rule was introduced in the 1990s,” Laurent said.
AGS Formula 1, which now runs a driving school and events, launched the F1 ’90s Time Attack Mediterranean Challenge for F1 cars built between 1986 and 2000 and Formula 3000s from 1985 to 2000.
Four events are planned, starting this weekend during the Grand Prix de France historique at Paul Ricard.
The entry for Ricard includes two AGS chassis, a 1989 JH24 and a 1991 JH25, driven by 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Eric Helary and former British Formula Ford leader Geoffroy Horion respectively.
Former F3000 and IndyCar driver Laurent Redon, whose LRS organization organizes F1 driving experiences, will compete in a Jordan 197.
Later machines in the 11-car field include a pair of Prost AP02s and an Arrows A20, all from 1999.
Invitational entries include multiple BOSS GP champion Klaas Zwart in a 2004 Jaguar R5 and a 2005 Dallara T05 Formula-Renault 3.5 one-make.
A rarity in the field is a 1989 Rial ARC2 3.5 liter F1 car.
Toranosuke Takagi, Arrows A20, ahead of Olivier Panis, Prost AP02 Peugeot
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Entries for the Time Attack competition will increase for subsequent events, AGS events manager Cédric Laurent told Autosport.
He explained that a minimum of 16 cars are expected for the second round at the Charade circuit in France in July and up to 20 for the finale in November of the historic Moroccan GP at the Sidi Daoui circuit, which will be co -organized by AGS. .
“We only announced our series in February at Rétromobile in Paris [the classic car show]so there was no time and some cars were not ready in time for Paul Ricard,” he explained.
Potential entries for later in the season include the Leyton House CG901 owned by Richard Hope, which was showcased at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Peugeot-powered Jordan 195 that Steve Griffiths drove at the Goodwood circuit during the F1 demo in 2022 is also expected to be released in the series.
AGS, which also restores and operates historic cars including the JH24 and JH25 competing at Ricard, launched the 1990s F1 in response to demand from its customers, according to Laurent.
“There have been demonstrations of these cars,” said Laurent in reference to events organized by Peter Auto, Masters Historic Racing and Officina Caira.
Gabriele Tarquini, AGS JH24 Ford
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images
“But some of our customers were asking us if there was a place where they could compete with their cars rather than just demo.
“They didn’t like racing because there’s always a risk, so we started thinking about another type of competition and came up with the idea of Time Attack.
“The good thing is these cars are back on track, which I think people want to see.”
Laurent, however, does not rule out organizing races for cars in the future.
“We will ask our competitors what they want to do: do they want to continue Time Attack or do they want races? he said. “We will follow what they want to do.”
Points will be scored for every thousandth of a second a driver improves on a three-lap average between qualifying and the Time Attack final.
The difference between the times of the qualifying session and the final cannot exceed 103-110% depending on the circuits.
“We knew we didn’t want people to sandbag, and then we remembered that the 107% qualification rule was introduced in the 1990s,” Laurent said.