Reece Ushijima

Reece Ushijima
Ushijima in 2022
Nationality	American
Born	(2003-01-13) 13 January 2003 (age 21) Laguna Hills, California, United States
USF Pro 2000 Championship career
Debut season	2023
Current team	Jay Howard Driver Development
Car number	6
Starts	9
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	TBA in 2023
Previous series
2021	GB3 Championship F3 Asian Championship
Championship titles
British Karting Championship GYG KZ2 Champion

Reece Ushijima (born 13 January 2003) is a racing driver who most recently competed in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with Jay Howard Driver Development. He previously competed in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing.

Career

Karting

Ushijima made his international competitive karting debut in 2017 in the SKUSA SuperNationals for Phil Giebler Racing, competing against the likes of Jak Crawford and Zane Maloney. ^[1] He then raced in X30 Senior category in IAME Asia, IAME Euroseries, Benelux, Asian Karting Championship, and Super One and British Karting Championships in the UK, racing for Piers Sexton Racing. In 2019, he finished 2nd in the Asian Karting Championship and 3rd in IAME Asia Final.

Formula Ford

In November 2019, at the age of 16, Ushijima transitioned from karts to cars. On the weekend following his racing licence acquisition he qualified on pole position, finishing P3 and P2 in the races and taking fastest lap at the BRSCC Formula Ford Winter Series in Wales, UK.

MRF Challenge Formula 2000

In the 2019–20 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship held during the winter in Dubai, Sakhir and Chennai, Ushijima logged two fastest laps and finished 7th in the standings. His best finish was 4th place at the final round in Madras Motor Race Track, Chennai.

BRDC Formula 3 Championship

2020

For the 2020 season Ushijima signed with Hitech Grand Prix to race in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. ^[2] The American started off strongly, scoring his maiden podium in the second round, with second at Donington Park. ^[3] His next podium came at the next round, held at Brands Hatch, however this would be the final podium of his season. Ushijima finished eleventh in the standings, nine places behind teammate Kush Maini. ^[4]

2021

Ushijima at Brands Hatch during the 2021 GB3 Championship

For the 2021 season, Ushijima remained with Hitech, this time alongside Sebastián Álvarez and Bart Horsten. ^[5] His first podium came at the opening round of the season, with third in race two at Brands Hatch. ^[6] In the second round at Silverstone Circuit, Ushijima earned double pole, his first pole position in the series, followed up by his maiden wins in races 1 and 2. ^[7] He would go on to score three more podiums and a further pole on his way to 4th in the final standings.

F3 Asian Championship

In the winter of 2021 Ushijima competed in the F3 Asian Championship with Hitech GP. ^[8] He scored 45 points, and with a best race finish of fifth, ended up twelfth in the championship. ^[9]

FIA Formula 3 Championship

Ushijima driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 3 round.

Ushijima partook in post-season testing with Van Amersfoort Racing and was confirmed to drive for the team during the 2022 season, partnering Franco Colapinto and Rafael Villagómez.

At the end of the season, Ushijima partook in the post-season test with Hitech Grand Prix. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

USF Pro 2000 Championship

For his 2023 campaign, Ushijima left Formula 3 and signed to compete in the USF Pro 2000 Championship with Jay Howard Driver Development. ^[13] A second place podium came at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, being the only highlight of his tough season. ^[14] He opted to withdraw from the series with three rounds to go, explaining his desire to return to racing in Europe for 2024. ^[15] Ushijima was 14th in the standings, with 140 points. ^[16]

Personal life

Ushijima's mother is American; his father, who grew up in the United States, is Japanese. Though Ushijima was born in California, he moved to Japan at a young age and began his karting career there.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2017	SKUSA SuperNationals — X30 Junior	Phil Giebler Racing	55th
2019	IAME Series Benelux — Super Shifter		22nd
	AKOC Asia — X30 Senior		2nd
	IAME International Final — X30 Senior		60th
	UK Kartmasters Grand Prix — X30 Senior	Piers Sexton Racing	50th
	ROK Cup Superfinal — Senior ROK		29th
	British Kart Championship — X30 Senior		27th
	IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior		32nd
	IAME Asia Final — X30 Senior		3rd

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2019	BRSCC Formula Ford Winter Series	Oldfield Motorsport	2	0	1	1	2	?	?
2019–20	MRF Challenge Formula 2000	MRF Racing	15	0	1	2	0	104	7th
2020	BRDC British Formula 3 Championship	Hitech Grand Prix	24	0	0	1	2	244	11th
2021	GB3 Championship	Hitech Grand Prix	24	2	3	3	6	366	4th
	F3 Asian Championship		15	0	0	0	0	45	12th
2022	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Van Amersfoort Racing	18	0	0	0	1	13	20th
2023	USF Pro 2000 Championship	Jay Howard Driver Development	11	0	0	0	1	140	14th

Complete BRDC British F3 Championship 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	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	DC	Points
2020	Hitech Grand Prix	OUL 1 10	OUL 2 6	OUL 3 15	OUL 4 10	DON1 1 2	DON1 2 152	DON1 3 13	BRH 1 14	BRH 2 2	BRH 3 8	BRH 4 9	DON2 1 8	DON2 2 45	DON2 3 6	SNE 1 9	SNE 2 11	SNE 3 13	SNE 4 10	DON3 1 10	DON3 2 131	DON3 3 Ret	SIL 1 DSQ	SIL 2 154	SIL 3 8	11th	244
2021	Hitech Grand Prix	BRH 1 5	BRH 2 3	BRH 3 68	SIL1 1 1	SIL1 2 1	SIL1 3 106	DON1 1 2	DON1 2 Ret	DON1 3 Ret	SPA 1 11	SPA 2 8	SPA 3 65	SNE 1 Ret	SNE 2 13	SNE 3 112	SIL2 1 13	SIL2 2 8	SIL2 3 69	OUL 1 6	OUL 2 5	OUL 3 15	DON2 1 2	DON2 2 2	DON2 3 20	4th	366

Complete F3 Asian Championship 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	12	13	14	15	DC	Points
2021	Hitech Grand Prix	DUB 1 10	DUB 2 11	DUB 3 6	ABU 1 10	ABU 2 13	ABU 3 6	ABU 1 12	ABU 2 11	ABU 3 10	DUB 1 10	DUB 2 5	DUB 3 6	ABU 1 8	ABU 2 9	ABU 3 10	12th	45

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	DC	Points
2022	Van Amersfoort Racing	BHR SPR 12	BHR FEA 17	IMO SPR Ret	IMO FEA 18	CAT SPR 9	CAT FEA 19	SIL SPR 3	SIL FEA 10	RBR SPR 17	RBR FEA 13	HUN SPR 11	HUN FEA 14	SPA SPR 14	SPA FEA 10	ZAN SPR 22	ZAN FEA 19	MNZ SPR 19	MNZ FEA 10	20th	13

American open-wheel racing results

USF Pro 2000 Championship

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
2023	Jay Howard Driver Development	STP 1 5	STP 2 19	SEB 1 8	SEB 2 4	IMS 1 2	IMS 2 9	IRP 11	ROA 1 4	ROA 2 9	MOH 1	MOH 2	TOR 1	TOR 2	COTA 1	COTA 1	POR 1	POR 2	POR 3	7th*	132*

References

1. "SKUSA SuperNationals XXI - X30 Junior class 2017 standings | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
2. "British F3 - Reece Ushijima joins Hitech for 2020 BRDC British F3". BRDC British F3 Championship. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
3. Woollard, Craig (2020-08-15). "Foster takes BRDC F3 win at Donington as Frederick crashes out". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
4. Woollard, Craig (2020-12-10). "BRDC British F3 season review: Wins beat consistency in battle of titans". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
5. "British F3 - Reece Ushijima returns to BRDC British F3 with Hitech GP". BRDC British F3 Championship. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
6. Whitfield, Steve (2021-05-23). "O'Sullivan wins British F3 Brands Hatch race two, Simmons out in crash". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
7. Whitfield, Steve (2021-06-27). "Ushijima wins again from pole at Silverstone in BRDC British F3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
8. Wood, Ida (2020-12-17). "Hitech GP names Reece Ushijima as first 2021 Asian F3 signing". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
9. Scout, Formula (2021-02-21). "Podcast: Reviewing the 2021 winter series". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
10. "Formula 3 returns to action with post-season testing in Jerez". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
11. "Jerez post-season testing Day 2 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
12. "Jerez post-season testing Day 3 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
13. Wood, Ida (21 February 2023). "F3 podium-finisher Reece Ushijima moves to USF Pro 2000". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
14. Wood, Ida (13 May 2023). "Ricardo Escotto becomes USF Pro 2000 race-winner in bizzare fashion". Formula Scout. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
15. Alonso Lopez, Alejandro (7 August 2023). "Ushijima explains what didn't work in America as he eyes Europe return". Formula Scout. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
16. "2023 Season Standings" . Retrieved 11 December 2023.

External links

• Reece Ushijima career summary at DriverDB.com
• Driver Website