Reece Ushijima Explained

Reece Ushijima
Nationality: American
Birth Date:13 January 2003
Birth Place:Laguna Hills, California,
United States
Current Series:USF Pro 2000 Championship
First Year:2023
Current Team:Jay Howard Driver Development
Car Number:6
Starts:9
Wins:0
Podiums:1
Poles:0
Fastest Laps:0
Best Finish:TBA
Year:2023
Prev Series:GB3 Championship
F3 Asian Championship
Prev Series Years:2021
Titles:British Karting Championship GYG KZ2 Champion
Embed:https://reeceushijima.com/

Reece Ushijima (born 13 January 2003) is an American 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

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 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. Ushijima was born in California; in a 2023 interview he described America as his "home country." During the same interview he said he "grew up in Europe."

Karting record

Karting career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamPosition
2017SKUSA SuperNationals — X30 JuniorPhil Giebler Racing55th
2019IAME Series Benelux — Super Shifter22nd
AKOC Asia — X30 Senior2nd
IAME International Final — X30 Senior60th
UK Kartmasters Grand Prix — X30 SeniorPiers Sexton Racing50th
ROK Cup Superfinal — Senior ROK29th
British Kart Championship — X30 Senior27th
IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior32nd
IAME Asia Final — X30 Senior3rd

Racing record

Racing career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition
2019BRSCC Formula Ford Winter SeriesOldfield Motorsport20112??
2019–20MRF Challenge Formula 2000MRF Racing1501201047th
2020BRDC British Formula 3 ChampionshipHitech Grand Prix24001224411th
2021GB3 ChampionshipHitech Grand Prix2423363664th
F3 Asian Championship1500004512th
2022FIA Formula 3 Championshipalign=left nowrap=""Van Amersfoort Racing1800011320th
2023USF Pro 2000 ChampionshipJay Howard Driver Development11000114014th

Complete MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship results

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

Complete BRDC British F3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrant123456789101112131415161718192021222324DCPoints
2020nowrapHitech Grand PrixOUL
1

OUL
2

OUL
3

OUL
4

DON1
1

DON1
2

DON1
3

BRH
1

BRH
2

BRH
3

BRH
4

DON2
1

DON2
2

DON2
3

SNE
1

SNE
2

SNE
3

SNE
4

DON3
1

DON3
2

DON3
3

SIL
1

SIL
2

SIL
3

11th244
2021nowrapHitech Grand PrixBRH
1

BRH
2

BRH
3

SIL1
1

SIL1
2

SIL1
3

DON1
1

DON1
2

DON1
3

SPA
1

SPA
2

SPA
3

SNE
1

SNE
2

SNE
3

SIL2
1

SIL2
2

SIL2
3

OUL
1

OUL
2

OUL
3

DON2
1

DON2
2

DON2
3

4th366

Complete F3 Asian Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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)

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)

External links

Notes and References

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