Reece Ushijima

Reece Ushijima (born 13 January 2003) is a Japanese-American racing driver currently competing in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing, representing the United Kingdom as of now but looking to compete as a Japanese-American in the future.

Reece Ushijima
Ushijima at Brands Hatch in 2021
Nationality Japanese
American
via dual nationality
Born (2003-01-13) 13 January 2003
Laguna Hills, California, United States
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season2022
Current teamVan Amersfoort Racing
Car number31
Best finishTBD in 2022
Previous series
2021GB3 Championship
F3 Asian Championship

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.

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.

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 4 0 0 0 0 0 22nd*

* Season still in progress.

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		 CAT
FEA		 SIL
SPR		 SIL
FEA		 RBR
SPR		 RBR
FEA		 HUN
SPR		 HUN
FEA		 SPA
SPR		 SPA
FEA		 ZAN
SPR		 ZAN
FEA		 MNZ
SPR		 MNZ
FEA		 22nd* 0*

* Season still in progress.

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.
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