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FIRST PODIUM ON US SOIL
2023 May 12

Reece marked his 100th car race with a P2 finish at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). It was his first podium on American soil, coming at his fifth race in his home country. Prior to 2023 Reece spent his entire car racing career competing overseas.

The 14-turn IMS Road Course combines the main straight of the Indy 500 oval with an infield course for a total of 2.5 miles. Nicknamed "The Brickyard," the site is a US National Historic Landmark. IMS was first paved in 1909 with 3.2 million bricks, before conventional paving was commonly used. One strip of bricks remains at the start-finish line.

The race was tricky due to a partially wet track, and tire management played a significant role. The USF Pro 2000 event was held in conjunction with Indy NXT and IndyCar.

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2022 SEASON CONCLUDES
2022 Sept 13

The 2022 FIA F3 season concluded at historic Monza Circuit in Italy with the 9th round held September 9-11. Reece’s fastest qualifying run was compromised by a yellow flag plus a disputed penalty, resulting in a Sprint Race start from the back of the grid. But in a bold final round performance, he made up 11 positions in the Sprint Race, followed by a 12 position gain in the Feature Race to finish in the points at 10th.
 
2022 was a highly educational season for Reece, having moved up from regional F3 to global F3 in just his 3rd year of car racing. Of the 9 circuits the series would visit, Reece had only raced at 2 previously, Silverstone and Spa Francorchamps. His highest qualifying position of the season was 12th at Silverstone, meaning Sprint Race pole, which he converted to his highest finish, a close and decisive 3rd place.

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FIRST POINTS IN FIA F3
2022 May 23

Round 3 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain was the site of Reece’s first points of the 2022 FIA F3 season. Starting from P16, he moved up the field to finish 9th in Saturday’s Sprint Race, earning two points. In the 30-driver field, only the top 10 finishers of each race are awarded points.

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REECE SIGNS WITH VAR
2022 Jan 28

Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) has announced that Reece Ushijima will drive for them in FIA F3 for the 2022 season. The team is based in the Netherlands and competes in FIA F2 and F3, Formula Regional Europe, Euroformula Open and F4. Former VAR drivers currently in F1 include Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher.

 

FIA F3 is a support series for Formula One, meaning all races will be held on the same weekend and venue as select F1 races. Nine rounds of two races each will constitute the FIA F3 season, commencing with the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain on March 18-20. Details can be found on the FIA website.

 

The FIA F3 car has a top speed of 300 km/h with a 6-cylinder naturally aspirated 3.4L engine producing 380HP at 8,000 RPM. It is a step up from the 4-cylinder naturally-aspirated 2L engine of the lighter 230HP GB3 car and the 4-cylinder 1.7L turbocharged 270HP Asian F3 car Reece has driven the last two seasons. He drove the FIA F3 car in 2021 post-season testing last November and more official testing is scheduled for March and April 2022.

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2021 GB3 SUMMARY
2021 Oct 19

The 8th and final round of the 2021 GB3 (formerly British F3) season was held at Donnington Park Circuit on October 16-17. Reece qualified P3 for Race 1 and Pole Position for a rainy Race 2, finishing P2 in both contests. In reverse-grid Race 3, he was up 6 from the back of the grid and on course to secure 2nd in the 2021 Championship. However a rear puncture sent him back to the pit, resulting in an ultimate 4th in the season standings. Once back on track, he set the Fastest Lap of the race. Hitech GP finished 2nd in the 2021 Teams Championship.

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2021 SEASON UNDERWAY
2021 May 26

The 2021 BRDC British F3 season commenced with 19 drivers in Round 1 at Brands Hatch Circuit. Qualifying was interrupted with a red flag incident as Reece was running in P2. Some other teams opted to sacrifice new tires for the last couple of laps as qualifying resumed, bumping Reece to P6. In Race 1 he finished P5, and in Race 2 he earned his first podium of 2021 with P3. In reverse-grid Race 3, Reece powered through the field 8 spots to finish P6 and claim Fastest Lap. After Round 1, Reece is 3rd in the Driver's Championship.

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2020 SEASON SUMMARY
2020 Nov 10

Reece competed in all 7 rounds of the 2020 British F3 Championship with Hitech GP for his first full year of car racing. The Covid-delayed schedule of 24 races ran from August to November. 

 

Highlights included a 2nd place finishes at  Donnington Park and Brands Hatch, both in the busy 3-round month of August. His Fastest Driver of the Weekend award came at Donnington Park in September.

 

Classified as an elite sporting event, the final round of the F3 season at iconic Silverstone Circuit was held during UK lockdown without spectators, allowing the series to complete its full schedule of races for 2020.

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STRONG START IN BRITISH F3
2020 Aug 31

The 2020 British F3 season got underway with three race weekends in the month of August. Of the 11 races held thus far, Reece has achieved two podiums with 2nd place finishes at Donnington Park and Brands Hatch.

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FORMULA RENAULT EUROCUP TEST
2020 Mar 16

In Pre-Season Collective Testing in Valencia, Spain, Reece drove with M2 Competition. He completed the most laps of the field, with 150 laps over two days.

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CAR RACING DEBUT
2019 Nov 18

Reece’s formula racing commenced with a round in British Formula Ford at Anglesey Coast Circuit this weekend. The first time in the car, he qualified on Pole Position, took 2 podiums and Fastest Lap.

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2023 IN USF PRO 2000
2023 Feb 22

For 2023  Reece returns to his roots to race in the United States. He signed with Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) to contest the USF Pro 2000 championship. 

On the Road to Indy, USF Pro 2000 precedes Indy NXT (formerly Indy Lights), the feeder series for IndyCar. The championship consists of 9 rounds (18 races) held across the country, with one stop in Toronto. It features a mix of street circuits, road courses and one race at the iconic Indianapolis oval. The season's first official test will be held at Sebring in Florida, February 27-28, followed by the first two rounds on the Streets of St. Petersburg in Florida, March 3-5. Half of the events will be held together with IndyCar, including the first one at St. Petersburg.

 

For more details go to usfpro2000.com

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BREAKTHROUGH WEEKEND
2022 July 13

Reece has his first podium in FIA F3 after a 3rd place finish in Round 4 at Silverstone, held July 1-3. After qualifying 12th, he started on Pole for the Sprint Race, where the top 12 of the 30-car field are reversed. The battle for the top three was tight from start to finish with fans commenting that it was one of the most exciting races of the year. Having lived and raced in the UK under a British license for the previous 5 years, Reece reported that he was encouraged and humbled by the support of so many friends and fans in attendance.

 

On Sunday’s chaotic Feature Race, he started in 12th and dropped to 15th before working his way up to 10th, just in the points. It marked his first weekend of the 2022 season in the points for both races.

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2021 SEASON START
2022 Mar 31

The 2022 FIA F3 schedule commenced March 17-19 in Bahrain with the Sakhir Grand Prix held in conjunction with F1 and F2.

 

The F3 field is comprised of 30 drivers. For Round 1 in Bahrain Reece qualified P17. In Saturday’s 20-lap Sprint Race, he finished P12. In Sunday’s 23-lap Feature Race he moved up to 12th before an incident in front of him resulted in being bumped off the track, engaging the car’s safety shutdown feature. Before the car got back up to speed Reece had fallen to 24th, but worked his way up to a P17 finish.

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POST-SEASON FIA F3 TESTING
2021 Nov 4

Reece participated in the 3-day FIA F3 Post-Season Collective Tests at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, November 1-3. The first two days were with Van Amersfoort Racing, the third with Campos Racing. Day 1 was spent getting familiar with the more powerful DRS-equipped FIA F3 car. On Day 2 Reece was 12th fastest (of 30). On Day 3 he was 11th fastest, and claimed the 2nd best time in the final session, just 0.191 seconds behind the 2021 FIA F3 Runner-Up.

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DOUBLE POLE, DOUBLE WIN
2021 June 29

Reece claimed his first F3 Pole Position, first Double Pole Position, First Win and Second Win, all in one weekend at Silverstone Circuit. He began the 2nd round of the BRDC British F3 season with a stellar qualifying where Fastest Lap set the grid for Race 1 and Second Fastest Lap for Race 2. With flawless starts in both Race 1 and 2, it was just a matter of holding the lead, which he did from start to finish in both races.

 

Pressure from behind came from the championship leader toward the end of Race 1, but Reece managed to hold him off for his first victory in car racing. In Race 2 he made it across the finish line with a more comfortable lead of 1.17 seconds. In reverse-grid Race 3, Reece moved from 16th to 7th before a safety car deployed, then dropped to 10th amidst chaos in the midfield after racing resumed.

 

Now 2nd in the Driver's Championship, he is only 6 points behind the leader. Reece’s performance over the weekend helped team Hitech GP overtake Carlin for the lead in the Teams Championship.

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ASIAN F3 CONSISTENCY
2021 Feb 22

Reece competed in all 5 rounds of the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA in January and February of 2021 with Hitech GP. He finished 2nd of 12 drivers in the Rookie Cup and 12th of 25 in the Driver’s Championship. Despite only qualifying in the Top 10 twice, he finished 11 of the 15 races in the Top 10. Completing every race with a highest finish of P5 and lowest of P13 is a testament to the car and team at Hitech GP.

 

The field included an elite mix of drivers including some from FIA F2 (4 drivers) and FIA F3 (4 drivers). There were 7 drivers from FREC and Euroformula Open which use the same car as F3 Asia. The series which usually travels to multiple countries in Asia was this year limited to the UAE due to Covid. The circuits at Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi were run with varying configurations to satisfy FIA Superlicense points requirements (awarded to the top 9 in the Driver’s Championship).

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FASTEST OF THE WEEKEND
2020 Sept 23

At Round 4 of the 2020 British F3 season at Donnington Park Circuit, Reece was awarded Fastest Driver of the Weekend. Saturday’s qualifying was suspended with a red flag, just as he was about to complete a lap that would have put him near the top. He would finish 8th and 6th in the two races from his qualifying position of 7th. In Sunday’s reverse grid race, Reece powered through the field from 9th to 4th place, setting multiple fastest laps in the process. His 1:25.095 was the top time of the race weekend.

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REECE JOINS HITECH GP
2020 July 17

Due to Covid travel restrictions, Reece was not able to race in Formula Renault Eurocup in 2020 as planned. Hitech GP's entry into British F3 came just as Reece was considering options in the UK where he is a student. Following an extended stay with family in Japan, Reece joined Hitech GP for the 2020 season.

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MRF CHALLENGE ROUND 1
2019 Nov 28

In his debut in the first round of the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 series at Dubai Autodrome, Reece Ushijima qualified P6 and finished inside the top 6 in his races as well as claiming the fastest lap in Race 5 and Race 6. He also posted the fastest lap of the week against far more experienced competitors.

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