Marco Apicella
| Marco Apicella | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |
 Italian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
7 October 1965 near Bologna, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marco Apicella (born 7 October 1965 near Bologna) is an Italian professional racing driver. He competed in one Formula One Grand Prix for the Jordan team in the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.
Career
International Formula 3000 (1987-1991)
Apicella's first season in International Formula 3000, 1987, was uncompetitive in the EuroVenturini Dallara car, only scoring one point thanks to a fifth place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.[1] During the same year, he tested the Minardi Formula One car at the Autódromo do Estoril circuit.[2] Apicella moved to the FIRST team for the 1988 season and was a title favourite for the season. The team underperformed, but in 1989, again with FIRST, 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 round.[3] Despite a poor 1990 season, Apicella had the chance to test drive with the Modena and Minardi teams. Late in the year, he went to Japan and did some tests for Bridgestone in a Reynard-Mugen Formula One prototype car.[2] Apicella chose to change teams for the 1991 season, moving to Paul Stewart Racing, teaming up with Stewart himself. He was classified fifth overall at the end of the season.[2]
Japanese Formula 3000 (1992–1993)
With no offers for a drive in International F3000 for 1992, Apicella went to Japan to drive in the Japanese Formula 3000 series, setting up a relationship with the Dome team. Apicella, driving the Dome F103 won the fifth round of the championship that year. He continued to improve, finishing fourth in the 1993 season, winning at the Sugo race circuit.[1]
Formula One
Apicella's good performances in Japan during 1992 and early-1993 gave him a drive at the Jordan Formula One team for his home race in the 1993 season, with team boss Eddie Jordan wanting to try out up-and-coming Formula 3000 drivers.[4] He qualified in 23rd position, but retired on the first corner of the first lap of the race after a multi-car collision.[2] He was replaced by Emanuele Naspetti for the following round in Portugal.[4] As a result of this, he is sometimes considered to have had the shortest Formula 1 career out of any driver.[5]
Japanese Formula 3000/Formula Nippon (1994–1996)
For 1994, Apicella continued with Dome in Japanese Formula 3000, winning at the Mine, Suzuka and Fuji circuits on his way to winning the title. He continued in Japanese F3000 for 1995 and 1996 (the series being renamed Formula Nippon for 1996), this time with Team 5Zigen, but his activities were limited, as he chose to do other motor sport activities such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[1]
Apicella was appointed Chief Test Driver with Dome for 1996, testing the Dome F105 car alongside Shinji Nakano and Katsumi Yamamoto from April to June 1996 at the Suzuka Circuit.[1][6] 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.[1]
Apicella's last season in the Formula Nippon series was in 1997, driving for the Stellar International team. His best result for the team was a fourth place at the Mine circuit.[1]
Other series (1999-present)
Apicella moved back to Italy for 1999, competing in the Italian Formula 3000 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 International Formula 3000 championship in 1999 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.[1]
Apicella has also competed in several 24 Hours of Le Mans 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, which heavily damaged his Lamborghini Murciélago car.[7] Apicella is competing in the 2009 event again with the JLOC team.[8]
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | EuroVenturini | SIL 15 |
VAL Ret |
SPA 5 |
PAU Ret |
DON 7 |
PER Ret |
BRH DNQ |
BIR 13 |
IMO 13 |
BUG 15 |
JAR 7 |
19th | 1 |
| 1988 | First Racing | JER 13 |
VAL 7 |
PAU 5 |
SIL 6 |
MNZ 2 |
PER Ret |
BRH Ret |
BIR Ret |
BUG Ret |
ZOL Ret |
DIJ Ret |
11th | 9 |
| 1989 | First Racing | SIL 8 |
VAL Ret |
PAU 2 |
JER 3 |
PER 4 |
BRH Ret |
BIR 2 |
SPA 3 |
BUG Ret |
DIJ Ret |
4th | 23 | |
| 1990 | First Racing | DON 13 |
SIL 3 |
PAU Ret |
JER 2 |
MNZ 5 |
PER Ret |
HOC 2 |
BRH DSQ |
BIR Ret |
BUG Ret |
NOG 5 |
6th | 20 |
| 1991 | Paul Stewart Racing | VAL Ret |
PAU 4 |
JER Ret |
MUG 2 |
PER 2 |
HOC Ret |
BRH 4 |
SPA Ret |
BUG Ret |
NOG 11 |
5th | 18 | |
| 1999 | Monaco Motorsport | IMO | MON | CAT | MAG | SIL | A1R | HOC | HUN | SPA DNQ |
NÜR | NC | 0 |
Complete Japanese Formula 3000/Formula Nippon results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Team LeMans | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ | SUG | FUJ | SUZ | SUZ 4 |
16th | 3 | |||
| 1992 | Dome | SUZ 9 |
FUJ Ret |
MIN 6 |
SUZ 11 |
AUT 1 |
SUG 5 |
FUJ 8 |
FUJ 6 |
SUZ Ret |
FUJ 18† |
SUZ Ret |
10th | 13 |
| 1993 | Dome | SUZ 7 |
FUJ 2 |
MIN Ret |
SUZ 5 |
AUT C |
SUG 1 |
FUJ C |
FUJ Ret |
SUZ 4 |
FUJ 4 |
SUZ 9 |
4th | 23 |
| 1994 | Dome | SUZ 2 |
FUJ 4 |
MIN 1 |
SUZ 1 |
SUG 6 |
FUJ 4 |
SUZ 2 |
FUJ 1 |
FUJ 2 |
SUZ Ret |
1st | 48 | |
| 1995 | Team 5ZIGEN | SUZ Ret |
FUJ C |
MIN Ret |
SUZ 8 |
SUG Ret |
FUJ 8 |
TOK Ret |
FUJ Ret |
SUZ 10 |
NC | 0 | ||
| 1996 | Team 5ZIGEN | SUZ 12 |
MIN 4 |
FUJ 8 |
TOK 8 |
SUZ 14 |
SUG 13 |
FUJ 12 |
MIN Ret |
SUZ 10 |
FUJ Ret |
16th | 3 | |
| 1997 | STP Stellar | SUZ | MIN | FUJ | SUZ 8 |
SUG 5 |
FUJ 8 |
MIN 4 |
MOT Ret |
FUJ 6 |
SUZ 8 |
12th | 6 |
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Sasol Jordan | Jordan 193 | Hart V10 | RSA | BRA | EUR | SMR | ESP | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA Ret |
POR | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 |  SARD Co. Ltd. |
 Jeff Krosnoff Mauro Martini |
Toyota Supra LM | GT1 | 264 | 14th | 6th |
| 1999 |  Riley & Scott Europe Solution F |
 Carl Rosenblad Shane Lewis |
Riley & Scott Mk III/2-Ford | LMP | 67 | DNF | DNF |
| 2006 | JLOC Isao Noritake |
Koji Yamanishi Yasutaka Hinoi |
Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT | GT1 | 283 | DNF | DNF |
| 2009 | JLOC |
Atsushi Yogo Yutaka Yamagishi |
Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT | GT1 | 1 | DNF | DNF |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nyberg, Rainer. "A stillborn GP project from Japan". 8W. Forix / Autosport. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 3 4 "Drivers: Marco Apicella". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ↑ Diepraam, Mattijs (August 2000). "From zero to FIRST". 8W. Forix / Autosport. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 Diepraam, Mattijs (May 1998). "Marco Apicella's few yards as a Grand Prix driver". 8W. Forix / Autosport. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ↑ "Marco Apicella". F1 Rejects. 8 August 2001. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ↑ "Dome to launch next week". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1. 1996-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ Freeman, Glenn (2007-06-13). "Audi's Biela fastest in qualifying 1". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "List of the Competitors and Cars Invited to the Administrative Checking & Scrutineering" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kazuyoshi Hoshino |
Japanese Formula 3000 Champion 1994 |
Succeeded by Toshio Suzuki |