The 15th Rome Grand Prix was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 19 May 1963 at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit, near Rome in Italy. The race was run over two heats of 40 laps of the circuit, both of which were won by British driver Bob Anderson in a Lola Mk4.
Both heats finished with the same three cars coming home in the first three places, and each time they were the only three cars to complete the distance. The grid included some Italian drivers who were relatively unknown outside their home country, and who never took part in any World Championship Grands Prix. The only one of these to threaten the leaders in this race was Franco Bernabei in his De Tomaso, but his engine blew up while he was leading the first heat and he was unable to take part in the second.
Swiss driver Jo Siffert was to have taken part in this race, having decided against competing in a sports car race in Germany on the same day. The team he was to have driven for, Ecurie Filipinetti, lobbied the Swiss Automobile Club and they refused Siffert a visa to race in Rome."The Formula One Record Book", John Thompson, 1974, pp.141.
Results Pos Driver Entrant Constructor Time/Retired Grid Heat 1 / 2 1 Bob Anderson DW Racing Enterprises Lola-Climax 2:02:32.2 2 1st / 1st 2 Carel Godin de Beaufort Ecurie Maarsbergen Porsche + 32.7 s 1 2nd / 2nd 3 Ian Raby Ian Raby (Racing) Gilby-BRM + 1:05.4 s 5 3rd / 3rd 4 Roberto Lippi Scuderia Settecolli De Tomaso-Maserati 78 laps 13 4th / 5th 5 Gaetano Starrabba Gaetano Starrabba Lotus-Maserati 76 laps 10 5th / 6th 6 Clement Barrau Clement Barrau Lotus-Climax 73 laps 17 7th / 7th 7 Rovero Campello Rovero Campello De Tomaso-O.S.C.A. 71 laps 11 6th / 10th 8 Gastone Zanarotti Gastone Zanarotti De Tomaso-Maserati 68 laps 19 9th / 8th 9 Tim Parnell Tim Parnell Lotus-Climax 68 laps (Engine) 6 Ret / 4th 10 Günther Seiffert Rhine-Ruhr Racing Team Lotus-BRM 67 laps 18 8th / 11th 11 John Campbell-Jones Tim Parnell Lotus-BRM 56 laps 7 12th / 9th Ret Massimo Natili Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper-Maserati 36 laps (Oil pipe / Gearbox) 4 Ret / Ret Ret Juan Manuel Bordeu Count Volpi Porsche 32 laps (Clutch) 8 10th / DNS Ret Franco Bernabei Alejandro de Tomaso De Tomaso-Ford 27 laps (Engine) 3 Ret / DNS Ret "Condor" "Condor" De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo 26 laps (Gearbox) 15 11th / Ret Ret Bernard Collomb Bernard Collomb Lotus-Climax 20 laps 12 13th / DNS Ret André Wicky André Wicky Cooper-Climax 7 laps (Oil pressure) 14 Ret / DNS Ret Carlo Peroglio Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper-Maserati 3 laps (Oil pipe) 16 Ret / DNS Ret Nasif Estéfano Alejandro de Tomaso De Tomaso 1 lap (Clutch) 9 Ret / DNS DNQ Kurt Kuhnke Kurt Kuhnke BKL Lotus-Borgward - - DNQ Ernst Maring Kurt Kuhnke BKL Lotus-Borgward - - DNP Jo Siffert Siffert Racing Team Lotus-BRM Refused visa to race - - WD André Pilette André Pilette Lotus-Climax - - WD Philip Robinson A. Robinson & Sons Lotus-Climax - -
Fastest lap: (Heat 1) Bob Anderson 1:30.9 Fastest lap: (Heat 2) Bob Anderson 1:29.0
References
"The Grand Prix Who's Who", Steve Small, 1995.