1978 Argo Racing JM1

Designer Jo Marquart left GRD to work for the Modus Company in the early 1970s. When the company collapsed in November of 1976, Marquart began work on the first Argo in a garage. He was later joined by American John Peterson, whose resume included co-founding the British Novamotor agency. They were also joined by mechanic Nick Jordan.

In February of 1977, the first Argo was completed. It was called the JM1 and its design borrowed heavily from the Modus line of F3 cars. There were several modifications, such as the lowered body design, a double wishbone with outboard coil spring and damper front suspension, with a top link and bottom wishbone setup in the rear. In the front was a full-width nose design similar to the Ralt RT1.

The JM1 was quick and gave Stefan Johansson a victory at Anderstorp. David Kennedy did well in the European Championship, with several podium finishes throughout the 1977 season. The car was used again for the 1978 season, but little development work had been done on Kennedy's car during the off-season. Predictably, the car was not able to keep pace. Kennedy withdrew mid-way through the season.

For the 1979 season, Argo introduced a much-needed new car, the JM3. The car had a monocoque chassis with sidepods and an aerodynamic, lightweight, one-piece body. The JM3 was not able to attain the desired results, so work continued throughout the year on improving the design and mechanical components. It was given a stiffer suspension which helped, but was not nearly enough.

For 1980, the JM6 was introduced, with a development of the prior JM3. These cars were raced only in the United Kingdom. By midseason, the JM6 had been properly dialed-in and was providing a good deal of competition. As the season was coming to a close, Roberto Guerrero had won five races and finished second in the Championship. Tassin captured two victories and finishes the season in fourth in the Championship.

Cars that followed were the JM8 for the 1981 season, and the JM10 (a completely new car) for 1982. Argo withdrew from F3 competition for several years, returning in 1990 with the JM18 for the French F3 Championship. It would prove to be a difficult season for the Works team.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2012