Dean Canto

Dean Justin Canto (born 24 September 1980) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Best noted as a Supercars driver, Canto was the inaugural winner of the second-tier V8 Supercar development series in 2000, and the first to become a multiple-champion five years later. Canto has been a regular in the main Supercars Championship for a variety of teams racing both full-time and as a part-time endurance race co-driver.

Dean Canto
Nationality Australian
Born (1980-09-24) 24 September 1980
Sydney, New South Wales
Supercars Record
Series championships0
Races156
Race wins2
Podium finishes5
Pole positions0
2019 Championship position44th (326 pts)

Racing career

After winning a national and two state titles in kart racing, Canto graduated to the Australian GT Production Car Championship and finished the Championship in 11th overall, and second within Class B in which his Subaru Impreza WRX raced. He then backed up this performance with a victory in the 1998 Sandown 1 Hour driving a Maserati Ghibli co-driving with Alfredo Costanzo.[1] Another second in class placing followed in 1999 driving a Ford Mondeo in the Independents class of the Australian Super Touring Championship.

Later that year, Canto made his V8 Supercar début in the Shell Championship Series at Oran Park Raceway then went on to drive in the Queensland 500 and Bathurst Classic as well as racing his Mondeo at the Bathurst 1000.

In 2000, Canto won the inaugural Konica V8 Lites Series[1] driving a Ford EL Falcon under the banner of Dean Canto Racing. In 2001, Canto drove with Ford Tickford Racing at the Queensland 500 and Bathurst 1000. He achieved a ninth placing in the Queensland 500 and fifth with teammate Jim Richards in the Bathurst 1000.[1] Canto added another title with his victory in the Young Guns races at the Honda IndyCar Carnival, a one-make event for emerging young drivers in road specification Honda Integras.

In 2002, Canto became co-driver to Max Wilson at Briggs Motor Sport and in 2003, achieved a full-time drive with the same team. Canto was diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis, a very rare medical condition that causes rapid hair loss to the body. Medical advice reassured Canto that the condition would, in no way, affect his overall health. With concerns allayed, Canto then took the time to adjust to the condition, renew his confidence and focus, stronger than ever, on more driving success.

In the later half of the 2003 season, Canto pulled off a number of strong performances and top 10 finishes and was awarded the VIP Top Dog award, however it was not enough for Canto to keep his full-time drive. Canto was retained as the endurance race co-driver with team under its new ownership identity of Triple Eight Race Engineering for the 2004 season.

The following year Dick Johnson Racing appointed Canto to drive the Gatorz Racing Development Series Ford Falcon. The season proved a success. Canto won five of the seven rounds, qualified on pole position on six of seven occasions, won nine of the ten races where he started on the front row of the grid and won ten races in total. Canto's times were so fast that he could qualify in the Supercars Top 20 (even though the Development cars had a 100 kg lead weight disadvantage). He set new Development Series lap records at Adelaide and Wakefield Park and new qualifying lap records at the Clipsal 500 and Queensland rounds. At the season's conclusion he became the first driver ever to win two Development Series Championships.[2]

Canto proved once again his worth as an endurance driver teaming up with Glenn Seton at the endurance rounds in a DJR Falcon. The pair finished ninth at Bathurst even with an engine misfire.

Canto's performance in 2005 caught the attention of Garry Rogers Motorsport team Principal Garry Rogers. He asked Canto to fill the vacant seat of the #34 Valvoline Repco Cummins VZ Commodore for the Indy 300 and Tasmanian rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. The car finished well and both team and driver realised that a longer term relationship would be beneficial for team and driver. Canto signed a multi year deal with GRM as the team's lead driver for their assault on the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series.[3]

The 2006 series saw Canto achieve his first win in the main category, the reverse grid race at Barbagallo Raceway. After a difficult 2007 season, Canto's GRM contract was cut leaving Canto without a full-time drive in 2008.[4] Canto returned to the Development series with Howard Racing but just missed out on his third title, finishing second to Steve Owen.[5]

Since then Canto has competed as an endurance co-driver with Ford Performance Racing under its numerous banners from 2008–2018. His time there included a 2nd place at the Bathurst 1000 in 2012, and a win at the Gold Coast 600 in 2014, both alongside long time teammate, David Reynolds.

In 2019, Canto competed in his 21st Bathurst 1000 alongside Macauley Jones at Brad Jones Racing.[6]

Career results

The VIP Holdings Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 Dean Canto drove at the opening round of the 2015 Australian GT Championship
Season Series Position Car Team
1998 Australian GT Production Car Championship 11th Subaru Impreza WRX Edge Motor Sport
1999 Australian Super Touring Championship 7th Ford Mondeo Knight Racing
2000 Konica V8 Lites Series 1st Ford EL Falcon Dean Canto Racing
2001 Shell Championship Series 32nd Ford AU Falcon RPM International Racing
Glenn Seton Racing
2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 44th Ford AU Falcon Briggs Motor Sport
2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 24th Ford BA Falcon Team Betta Electrical
2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 35th Ford BA Falcon
Holden VZ Commodore
Dick Johnson Racing
Garry Rogers Motorsport
HPDC V8 Supercar Series 1st Ford BA Falcon Dick Johnson Racing
2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 17th Holden VZ Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport
2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 16th Holden VE Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport
2008 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series 2nd Ford BA Falcon Howard Racing
V8 Supercar Championship Series 38th Ford BF Falcon Ford Performance Racing
2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series 52nd Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 41st Ford FG Falcon Rod Nash Racing
Australian Mini Challenge 13th Mini John Cooper Works Challenge
2011 International V8 Supercars Championship 71st Ford FG Falcon Rod Nash Racing
V8 Utes Racing Series 36th Holden VE Ute
2012 V8SuperTourer Championship 26th Ford FG Falcon International Motorsport
International V8 Supercars Championship 31st Ford FG Falcon Rod Nash Racing
2013 International V8 Supercars Championship 35th Ford FG Falcon Rod Nash Racing
2014 International V8 Supercars Championship 44th Ford FG Falcon Rod Nash Racing
2015 International V8 Supercars Championship 28th Ford FG X Falcon
Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
Rod Nash Racing
Erebus Motorsport
2016 International V8 Supercars Championship 47th Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia
2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 43rd Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia
2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 38th Ford FG X Falcon Tickford Racing
2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 44th Holden ZB Commodore Tim Blanchard Racing

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year Team Car Co-driver Position Laps
1999 Graphic Skills Racing Holden Commodore VS Wayne Wakefield DNF 46
2000 Dean Canto Racing Ford Falcon AU Ian Moncreiff DNF 56
2001 Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon AU Jim Richards 5th 161
2002 Briggs Motor Sport Ford Falcon AU Max Wilson DNF 108
2003 Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon BA Matthew White DNF 147
2004 Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon BA Yvan Muller DNF 138
2005 Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon BA Glenn Seton 9th 158
2006 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore VZ Lee Holdsworth 17th 129
2007 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Lee Holdsworth DNF 118
2008 Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon BF Luke Youlden 7th 161
2009 Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon FG Luke Youlden DNF 139
2010 Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon FG Paul Dumbrell 14th 161
2011 Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon FG Paul Dumbrell DNF 144
2012 Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon FG David Reynolds 2nd 161
2013 Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon FG David Reynolds 9th 161
2014 Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon FG David Reynolds DNF 117
2015 Rod Nash Racing Ford Falcon FG X David Reynolds 6th 161
2016 Prodrive Racing Australia Ford Falcon FG X Mark Winterbottom DNF 132
2017 Prodrive Racing Australia Ford Falcon FG X Mark Winterbottom DNF 159
2018 Tickford Racing Ford Falcon FG X Mark Winterbottom 12th 161
2019 Tim Blanchard Racing Holden Commodore ZB Macauley Jones 16th 160

References

  1. "VESRIX Driver Profile: Dean Canto". conrod.com.au.
  2. "Fujitsu Series Driver Points: Championship Points 2005". The official website of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010.
  3. "Canto confirmed at GRM". Crash. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  4. "Canto dumped by GRM". Crash. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  5. "Fujitsu Series Driver Points: Championship Points 2008". The official website of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010.
  6. Whitelaw, Anya (7 October 2019). "Canto is hunting for a special 21st celebration at Bathurst". Western Advocate. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
inaugural
Winner of the Konica V8 Lites Series
2000
Succeeded by
Simon Wills
Preceded by
Andrew Jones
Winner of the HPDC V8 Supercar Series
2005
Succeeded by
Adam Macrow
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