Urrutia to make Lights return with HMD Motorsports

Santiago Urrutia

Santiago Urrutia will return to the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship for another shot at the season title.

Urrutia, 23, has twice finished second and has finished third in previous Indy Lights seasons. He took last season off after failing to land a ride in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

This season, Urrutia will drive the No. 55 Dallara IL-15 of HMD Motorsports, joining David Malukas on the team.

Like many Indy Lights drivers, Urrutia has worked his way through the Road to Indy program. Beginning in 2015, Santiago moved over from the GP3 Series to compete in the Pro Mazda Championship (now Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires) where he earned three wins, 10 podiums and ultimately took home the championship. In 2016, he moved up to Indy Lights where he remained through 2018. In his time in Indy Lights, Urrutia collected eight race wins.

"I have worked extremely hard to be back in the Indy Lights paddock as my ultimate goal is IndyCar," Urrutia said. "The HMD Motorsports team is on the rise and in my opinion, a major threat for the championship. I am happy to be reunited with my engineer from the past, (engineer) Tim Neff and working with David Malukas. I can't wait to get the season started."

"Santiago will be a great asset to the team in 2020," team manager AJ Smith said. "Over the years, he has competed in numerous championships and has always been able to battle for wins and been one of the top drivers in the field, and we are expecting nothing less in 2020."

The Indy Lights season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 13-15.