Marco Apicella (born 7 October 1965 near

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

) is an Italian professional racing driver. He competed in one

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

for the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

team in the

1993 Italian Grand Prix The 1993 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Pioneer 64° Gran Premio d'Italia) was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 12 September 1993. It was the thirteenth race of the 1993 Formula One World Championship. The 53-lap race was won by Britis ...

. He later won the 1994 Japanese Formula 3000 Championship driving for

Dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

Career

Marco Apicella was born in Bologna on 7 October 1965. He began competing in

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

racing in 1984, and took victory for

Scuderia Coloni Coloni Motorsport, also known as Scuderia Coloni, was an auto racing team from Italy. Formed by Enzo Coloni in 1983, the team participated in Formula Three between 1983 and 1986, before racing in Formula One as Enzo Coloni Racing Car Systems bet ...

in the first two rounds of the 1986 Italian Formula Three season. Apicella competed in the

1985 Macau Grand Prix The 1985 Macau Grand Prix Formula Three was the 32nd Macau Grand Prix race to be held on the streets of Macau on 24 November 1985. It was the second edition for Formula Three cars. The race was won by Brazilian driver Mauricio Gugelmin, driving a ...

, where he failed to finish.

International Formula 3000 (1987–1991)

Apicella's first season in

International Formula 3000 The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become t ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, was uncompetitive in the EuroVenturini

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

car, only scoring one point thanks to a fifth place at the

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

circuit. During the same year, he tested the

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...

Formula One car at the

Autódromo do Estoril The Circuito do Estoril or Autódromo do Estoril (Estoril Circuit), officially known as Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, is a motorsport race track on the Portuguese Riviera, outside of Lisbon, owned by state-run holding management company Pa ...

circuit. Apicella moved to the

FIRST First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

team for the 1988 season and was a title favourite for the season. He bought the

March Engineering March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better success in other categories ...

car to a second-place finish in the Monza race, but was not as competitive as teammate

Pierluigi Martini Pierluigi Martini (born 23 April 1961) is an Italian former racing driver. He won the 1999 24 hours of Le Mans and participated in 124 Formula One Grands Prix (with 119 starts) between 1984 and 1995. Early life Martini's uncle, Giancarlo Martin ...

. The team underperformed, but in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, again with FIRST (who had made a change to

Reynard Motorsport Reynard Motorsport was the world's largest racing car manufacturer in the 1980s. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vaux ...

cars), Apicella achieved several podium finishes on his way to finishing fourth overall in the Drivers' Championship. Apicella looked like a championship contender for the 1990 season and continued with the FIRST team, but his performances worsened as the season progressed, ending with a disqualification in the

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

round. A crash at the

Pau Grand Prix The Pau Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Pau) is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurat ...

prevented him from claiming his first win. Despite a poor 1990 season, Apicella had the chance to test drive with the

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

and Minardi teams. Late in the year, he went to Japan and did some tests for

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

in a

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, as ...

- Mugen Formula One prototype car. Apicella chose to change teams for the

1991 season File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated ...

, moving to

Paul Stewart Racing Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, teaming up with Stewart himself. He was classified fifth overall at the end of the season. Apicella was able to score podiums, but not victories, in the Lola car. Apicella started more International F3000 races than any other winless driver.

Japanese Formula 3000 (1992–1993)

With no offers for a drive in International F3000 for

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, Apicella went to Japan to drive in the

Japanese Formula 3000 The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

series, setting up a relationship with the

team. Apicella came tenth in the standings, the best of any Dome driver. Apicella, driving the Dome F103 won the fifth round of the championship that year. He continued to improve, finishing fourth in the

1993 season File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, winning at the

Sugo ''Sugo'' (International title: ''The Chosen One'' / ) is a Philippine television drama action series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Dominic Zapata and Lore Reyes, it stars Richard Gutierrez in the title role. It premiered on July 4, 200 ...

race circuit.

Formula One

Apicella's good performances in Japan during 1992 and early 1993 gave him a drive at the

team for his home race in the

, with team boss

Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championshi ...

wanting to try out up-and-coming Formula 3000 drivers. He replaced

Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Boutsen (born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One. He competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix (163 starts), winning three rac ...

. Apicella tested the

Jordan 193 The Jordan 193 was the car with which the Jordan Grand Prix, Jordan team competed in the 1993 Formula One World Championship. The car was powered by a Hart Racing Engines, Hart 3.5-litre V10 engine and ran on Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Good ...

car at Imola before the race weekend. During practice for the race he spun on the moist tarmac at the second Lesmo corner. He qualified in 23rd position, half a second behind teammate Barrichello, who set his times later in the session after the circuit had become less damp. It was the first time Apicella had driven a racing car with a

semi-automatic gearbox A semi-automatic transmission is a "theoretical" multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input would be required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and to ...

. Apicella retired at the first corner of the first lap of the race after a multi-car collision. He was replaced by

Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti (born 24 February 1968) is a racing driver and entrepreneur from Italy. Career Karting He made his racing debut at the age of 12 and spent seven years in karting (1980-1986), participating in more than 200 races and achievin ...

for the following round in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. As a result of this, he is falsely considered to have had the shortest Formula 1 career out of any driver, a record held by

Ernst Loof Ernst Loof (4 July 1907 in Neindorf near Oschersleben – 3 March 1956 in Bonn) was an automotive engineer and racing driver from Germany. He contributed to the design of the BMW 328 sports car in the late 1930s. Biography Loof participated in ...

. Apicella retired after driving 800 metres, while Loof's car broke down as it was pulling away from the starting grid.

Japanese Formula 3000/Formula Nippon (1994–1996)

For

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, Apicella continued with Dome in Japanese Formula 3000, winning at the Mine, Suzuka and

Fuji Fuji may refer to: Places China * Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan Japan * Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan * Fuji River * Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture * Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefectur ...

circuits on his way to winning the title. He continued in Japanese F3000 for

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

(the series being renamed

Formula Nippon The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

for 1996), this time with

Team 5Zigen A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...

, but his activities were limited, as he chose to do other motor sport activities such as the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

. Apicella was appointed Chief Test Driver with Dome for 1996, testing the

Dome F105 The Dome F105 was an unraced Formula One car designed and built by the Japanese auto racing, motorsport constructor, Dome (constructor), Dome. Concept and construction Dome was founded in 1975 by brothers Minoru Hayashi, Minoru and Shoichi Hayashi ...

car alongside

Shinji Nakano Shinji Nakano (中野信治, born 1 April 1971) is a Japanese professional racing driver. His father, Tsuneharu, was also a racing driver. He competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Racing career Pre Formula One Career Formu ...

and Katsumi Yamamoto from April to June 1996 at the Suzuka Circuit. The aim was for the car to produce a base for them to mount a challenge into Formula One, but the project was shelved after the car was substantially damaged in an accident. Apicella's last season in the Formula Nippon series was in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, driving for the

Stellar International Stellar means anything related to one or more stars (''stella''). The term may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Stellar'' (magazine), an Irish lifestyle and fashion magazine * Stellar Loussier, a character from ''Mobile Suit Gun ...

team. His best result for the team was a fourth place at the Mine circuit.

Other series (1999–present)

Apicella moved back to Italy for

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, competing in the

Italian Formula 3000 Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

championship. He scored two wins during the season on his way to third place in the championship. Apicella also tried to qualify for the Spa round of the

championship in

for Monaco Motorsport, but failed to do so due to adverse weather conditions. Apicella has since gone back to Japan, to compete in touring cars with the

All Japan GT Championship Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...

. Apicella has also competed in several

races. He was scheduled to compete in the 2007 event with the JLOC Isao Noritake team, but on the first day of practice he was involved in an accident on the

Mulsanne Straight The Mulsanne Straight (''Ligne Droite des Hunaudières'' in French) is the name used in English for a formerly long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is int ...

, which heavily damaged his

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

Murciélago Murciélago (Spanish for "Bat") was a Navarra fighting bull, who gained fame after Lamborghini chose to name a supercar after him, to continue the passion for bullfighting Ferruccio Lamborghini, the company's founder, was famous for. Accordi ...

car. Apicella competed in the 2009 event, again with the JLOC team. This and a start for JLOC in the 2009 Super GT Series saw the end of Apicella's professional racing career.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Japanese Formula 3000/Formula Nippon results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) † Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula One results

(

)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Apicella, Marco 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Bologna Italian racing drivers Italian Formula One drivers Japanese Formula 3000 Championship drivers Jordan Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Formula Nippon drivers Auto GP drivers Super GT drivers International Formula 3000 drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Paul Stewart Racing drivers Team LeMans drivers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Scuderia Coloni drivers TOM'S drivers