Reece Ushijima
| Reece Ushijima | |
|---|---|
 Ushijima at Brands Hatch in 2021 | |
| Nationality |  Japanese Americanvia dual nationality |
| Born | 13 January 2003 Laguna Hills, California, United States |
| BRDC British Formula 3 Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2020 |
| Current team | Hitech Grand Prix |
| Car number | 13 |
| Starts | 27 (27 entries) |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Best finish | 4th in 2021 |
| Previous series | |
| 2021 | F3 Asian Championship |
Reece Ushijima (born 13 January 2003) is a Japanese-American racing driver. He currently competes in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, driving for Hitech Grand Prix.
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[]
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]
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]
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[]
Career summary[]
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | BRSCC Formula Ford Winter Series | 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 | F3 Asian Championship | Hitech Grand Prix | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 12th |
| BRDC British Formula 3 Championship | 24 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 366 | 4th |
* 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 |
References[]
- ^ "SKUSA SuperNationals XXI - X30 Junior class 2017 standings | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ "British F3 - Reece Ushijima joins Hitech for 2020 BRDC British F3". BRDC British F3 Championship. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Woollard, Craig (2020-08-15). "Foster takes BRDC F3 win at Donington as Frederick crashes out". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Woollard, Craig (2020-12-10). "BRDC British F3 season review: Wins beat consistency in battle of titans". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ "British F3 - Reece Ushijima returns to BRDC British F3 with Hitech GP". BRDC British F3 Championship. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Whitfield, Steve (2021-05-23). "O'Sullivan wins British F3 Brands Hatch race two, Simmons out in crash". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Whitfield, Steve (2021-06-27). "Ushijima wins again from pole at Silverstone in BRDC British F3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
- ^ Wood, Ida (2020-12-17). "Hitech GP names Reece Ushijima as first 2021 Asian F3 signing". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Scout, Formula (2021-02-21). "Podcast: Reviewing the 2021 winter series". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
External links[]
- Reece Ushijima career summary at DriverDB.com
- Driver Website
- 2003 births
- Living people
- American racing drivers
- Japanese racing drivers
- American people of Japanese descent
- BRDC British Formula 3 Championship drivers
- F3 Asian Championship drivers