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.
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. 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 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. 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.
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.
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. Canto returned to the Development series with Howard Racing but just missed out on his third title, finishing second to Steve Owen.
Since then, Canto has competed as an endurance co-driver with Ford Performance Racing under its numerous banners from 2008 to 2018. His time there included a second 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.
Career results
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 RacingGlenn 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 FalconHolden VZ Commodore Dick Johnson RacingGarry 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 FalconMercedes-Benz E63 AMG Rod Nash RacingErebus 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
Super2 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Super2 Series results Year Team No. Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Position Points 2000 Dean Canto Racing 45 Ford EL Falcon EASR1 EASR2 EASR3 PHIR4 PHIR5 PHIR6 ORAR7 ORAR8 ORAR9 LAKR10 LAKR11 LAKR12 MALR13 MALR14 MALR15 1st 229 2005 Dick Johnson Racing 17 Ford BA Falcon ADER1 ADER2 WAKR3 WAKR4 WAKR5 EASR6 EASR7 EASR8 QLDR9 QLDR10 QLDR11 MALR12 MALR13 MALR14 BATR15 BATR16 PHIR17 PHIR18 1st 1098 2008 Howard Racing 37 Ford BA Falcon ADER1 ADER2 WAKR3 WAKR4 WAKR5 SANR6 SANR7 SANR8 QLDR9 QLDR10 QLDR11 WINR12 WINR13 WINR14 BATR15 BATR16 ORAR17 ORAR18 2nd 1621
Supercars Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)