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.
| 1963 Rome Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-championship race in the 1963 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 19 May 1963 | ||
| Official name | XV Gran Premio di Roma | ||
| Location | ACI Vallelunga Circuit, Vallelunga | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.222 km (2.002 miles) | ||
| Distance | 2 x 40 laps, 255.96 km (159.04 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Porsche | ||
| Time | 1:29.4 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Bob Anderson | Lola-Climax | |
| Time | 1:29.0 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lola-Climax | ||
| Second | Porsche | ||
| Third | Gilby-BRM | ||
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.[1]
Results edit
| 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 edit
- ^ "The Formula One Record Book", John Thompson, 1974, pp.141.
- "The Grand Prix Who's Who", Steve Small, 1995.