• Peg It on GarageMonkey
INDY LIGHTS: Star Mazda Champ Hawksworth Joins SSM
21-year-old British phenom Jack Hawksworth took the Star Mazda title in his first season of racing in America and will return to race Indy Lights with SSM.
Marshall Pruett  |  Posted December 07, 2012  
J-Hawk put himself in a perfect position to vie for the 2013 Firestone Indy Lights title by joining Sam Schmidt Motorsports. (Photo: IndyCar Series)
21-year-old British phenom Jack Hawksworth took the Mazda Road To Indy by storm in 2012, scoring the Star Mazda championship in dominant fashion during his first season of racing in America, and now he'll return to try and add the 2013 Firestone Indy Lights crown to his CV.

“I am delighted to confirm that I will be competing in Firestone Indy Lights with SSM,” Hawksworth said of joining the dominant Sam Schmidt Indy Lights program.

“The team’s success speaks for itself and I am relishing the opportunity to work with this team and help them achieve the best results possible in 2013.”

Like SSM's 2011 Lights champion Josef Newgarden and 2012 title winner Tristan Vautier, Hawksworth will carry branding and financial support from Mazda for winning the Star Mazda championship.

With a track record of producing Indy Lights champions, Schmidt feels confident about his newest charge.

“I’m really pleased to have Jack join SSM in 2013,” he said. “I watched his progress very closely this year in Star Mazda. He did a fantastic job, especially since he had not raced in the US before and everything was unfamiliar.”

In what has been an outstanding week for Hawksworth, and in addition to his new Indy Lights contract, he was also presented with the Henry Surtees Award at the British Racing Drivers’ Club Awards luncheon.

The 2013 Lights season opens next March during the IndyCar Series season opener at St. Petersburg.

Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, and covers the IndyCar Series. Before joining SPEED, Pruett worked in open-wheel racing for 20 years as a mechanic and engineer. He also contributes to RACER, Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett.
MPruett's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marshall Pruett

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.