Marco Apicella was born in Bologna on 7 October 1965.
Apicella began competing in Formula Three racing in 1984. He took victory for Scuderia Coloni in the first two rounds of the 1986 Italian Formula Three season. He also competed in the 1985 Macau Grand Prix, but failed to finish.
Apicella’s first season in International Formula 3000, in 1987, yielded one point with a fifth-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps, driving for EuroVenturini in a Dallara car. During the same year, he tested the Minardi Formula One car at the Autódromo do Estoril circuit. He moved to the FIRST team for the 1988 season and was considered a title favourite, achieving a second-place finish at Monza. In 1989, still with FIRST, now using Reynard Motorsport cars, Apicella achieved several podium finishes on his way to fourth overall in the Drivers' Championship.
Apicella continued with FIRST for the 1990 season, but his performances worsened, culminating in a disqualification at Brands Hatch. A crash at the Pau Grand Prix prevented him from claiming his first win. Despite this, he had the opportunity to test drive with Modena and Minardi. Later in the year, he tested for Bridgestone in a Reynard-Mugen Formula One prototype car in Japan. For 1991, Apicella joined Paul Stewart Racing, finishing fifth overall, scoring podiums but no wins in the Lola car. Apicella started more International F3000 races than any other winless driver.
With no International F3000 drive for 1992, Apicella moved to Japan and joined Dome, finishing tenth in the Japanese Formula 3000 standings, the best result for any Dome driver. He won the fifth round of the championship that year. He continued to improve, winning at the Sugo race circuit and finishing fourth overall in the 1993 season.
Apicella’s performances in Japan during 1992 and early 1993 earned him a drive with the Jordan Formula One team for his home race, the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, as team boss Eddie Jordan sought to evaluate up-and-coming Formula 3000 drivers. He replaced Thierry Boutsen and tested the Jordan 193 car at Imola before the race weekend. During practice, he spun on the moist tarmac at the second Lesmo corner. He qualified in 23rd position, half a second behind teammate Barrichello. It was the first time he had driven a racing car with a semi-automatic gearbox. Apicella retired after a multi-car collision at the first corner of the first lap. He was replaced by Emanuele Naspetti for the following round in Portugal. He is falsely considered to have had the shortest Formula 1 career out of any driver, a record held by Ernst Loof. Apicella retired after driving 800 metres, while Loof’s car broke down as it was pulling away from the starting grid.
Apicella continued with Dome in Japanese Formula 3000 for 1994, winning at Mine, Suzuka and Fuji on his way to winning the title. He continued in Japanese F3000 for 1995 and 1996 (renamed Formula Nippon for 1996), this time with Team 5Zigen, but his activities were limited as he participated in other motorsport events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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 at the Suzuka Circuit. The aim was to develop a base for a Formula One challenge, 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, driving for the Stellar International team, achieving a fourth-place finish at the Mine circuit. He moved back to Italy for 1999, competing in the Italian Formula 3000 championship, scoring two wins on his way to third place in the championship. He attempted to qualify for the Spa round of the International Formula 3000 championship in 1999 for Monaco Motorsport, but failed due to adverse weather conditions. He also competed in the All Japan GT Championship in touring cars.
Apicella 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 was involved in an accident on the Mulsanne Straight during practice, heavily damaging his Lamborghini Murciélago. He competed in the 2009 event, again with JLOC, which, along with a start for JLOC in the 2009 Super GT Series, marked the end of his professional racing career.