# 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.

## 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 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.

## 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 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 |
| 2005 | 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 |
| 2008 | 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 |
| 2010 | Australian Mini Challenge | 13th | Mini John Cooper Works Challenge | |
| 2011 | International V8 Supercars Championship | 71st | Ford FG Falcon | Rod Nash Racing |
| 2011 | V8 Utes Racing Series | 36th | Holden VE Ute | |
| 2012 | V8SuperTourer Championship | 26th | Ford FG Falcon | International Motorsport |
| 2012 | 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 |

### Supercars Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Supercars results :
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | Position | Points |
| 2001 | Glenn Seton Racing | Ford AU Falcon | PHI R1 | PHI R2 | ADE R3 | ADE R4 | EAS R5 | EAS R6 | HDV R7 | HDV R8 | HDV R9 | CAN R10 | CAN R11 | CAN R12 | BAR R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | CAL R16 | CAL R17 | CAL R18 | ORA R19 | ORA R20 | QLD R21 8 | WIN R22 | WIN R23 | BAT R24 5 | PUK R25 | PUK R26 | PUK R27 | SAN R28 | SAN R29 | SAN R30 | | | | | | | | | | 32nd | 743 |
| 2002 | Briggs Motorsport | Ford AU Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | PHI R3 | PHI R4 | EAS R5 | EAS R6 | EAS R7 | HDV R8 | HDV R9 | HDV R10 | CAN R11 | CAN R12 | CAN R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | BAR R16 | ORA R17 | ORA R18 | WIN R19 | WIN R20 | QLD R21 Ret | BAT R22 Ret | SUR R23 | SUR R24 | PUK R25 | PUK R26 | PUK R27 | SAN R28 | SAN R29 | | | | | | | | | | | 45th | 86 |
| 2003 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford BA Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R1 | PHI R3 | EAS R4 | WIN R5 | BAR R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | HDV R9 | HDV R10 | HDV R11 | QLD R12 | ORA R13 | SAN R14 | BAT R15 | SUR R16 | SUR R17 | PUK R18 | PUK R19 | PUK R20 | EAS R21 | EAS R22 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 24th | 1001 |
| 2004 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Ford BA Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | EAS R3 | PUK R4 | PUK R5 | PUK R6 | HDV R7 | HDV R8 | HDV R9 | BAR R10 | BAR R11 | BAR R12 | QLD R13 | WIN R14 | ORA R15 | ORA R16 | SAN R17 Ret | BAT R18 Ret | SUR R19 | SUR R20 | SYM R21 | SYM R22 | SYM R23 | EAS R24 | EAS R25 | EAS R26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2005 | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford BA Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | PUK R3 | PUK R4 | PUK R5 | BAR R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | EAS R9 | EAS R10 | SHA R11 | SHA R12 | SHA R13 | HDV R14 | HDV R15 | HDV R16 | QLD R17 | ORA R18 | ORA R19 | SAN R20 12 | BAT R21 9 | SUR R22 | SUR R23 | SUR R24 | SYM R25 | SYM R26 | SYM R27 | PHI R28 | PHI R29 | PHI R30 | | | | | | | | | | 35th | 312 |
| 2006 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VZ Commodore | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | PUK R3 | PUK R4 | PUK R5 | BAR R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | WIN R9 | WIN R10 | WIN R11 | HDV R12 | HDV R13 | HDV R14 | QLD R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | ORA R18 | ORA R19 | ORA R20 | SAN R21 | BAT R22 | SUR R23 | SUR R24 | SUR R25 | SYM R26 | SYM R27 | SYM R28 | BHR R29 | BHR R30 | BHR R31 | PHI R32 | PHI R33 | PHI R34 | | | | | | 37th | 290 |
| 2007 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VE Commodore | ADE R1 12 | ADE R2 18 | BAR R3 27 | BAR R4 25 | BAR R5 28 | PUK R6 25 | PUK R7 17 | PUK R8 Ret | WIN R9 19 | WIN R10 23 | WIN R11 14 | EAS R12 16 | EAS R13 Ret | EAS R14 DNS | HDV R15 9 | HDV R16 11 | HDV R17 15 | QLD R18 16 | QLD R19 15 | QLD R20 13 | ORA R21 18 | ORA R22 23 | ORA R23 Ret | SAN R24 5 | BAT R25 Ret | SUR R26 9 | SUR R27 14 | SUR R28 Ret | BHR R29 13 | BHR R30 7 | BHR R31 9 | SYM R32 20 | SYM R33 12 | SYM R34 10 | PHI R35 20 | PHI R36 16 | PHI R37 14 | | | 16th | 125 |
| 2008 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford BF Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | EAS R3 | EAS R4 | EAS R5 | HAM R6 | HAM R7 | HAM R8 | BAR R9 | BAR R10 | BAR R11 | SAN R12 | SAN R13 | SAN R14 | HDV R15 | HDV R16 | HDV R17 | QLD R18 | QLD R19 | QLD R20 | WIN R21 | WIN R22 | WIN R23 | PHI R24 24 | BAT R25 7 | SUR R26 | SUR R27 | SUR R28 | BHR R29 | BHR R30 | BHR R31 | SYM R32 | SYM R33 | SYM R34 | ORA R35 | ORA R36 | ORA R37 | | | 38th | 252 |
| 2009 | Ford Performance Racing | Ford FG Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | HAM R3 | HAM R4 | WIN R5 | WIN R6 | SYM R7 | SYM R8 | HDV R9 | HDV R10 | TOW R11 | TOW R12 | SAN R13 | SAN R14 | QLD R15 | QLD R16 | PHI Q 8 | PHI R17 9 | BAT R18 Ret | SUR R19 | SUR R20 | SUR R21 | SUR R22 | PHI R23 | PHI R24 | BAR R25 | BAR R26 | SYD R27 | SYD R28 | | | | | | | | | | | 52nd | 152 |
| 2010 | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG Falcon | YMC R1 | YMC R2 | BHR R3 | BHR R4 | ADE R5 | ADE R6 | HAM R7 | HAM R8 | QLD R9 | QLD R10 | WIN R11 | WIN R12 | HDV R13 | HDV R14 | TOW R15 | TOW R16 | PHI R17 7 | BAT R18 14 | SUR R19 | SUR R20 | SYM R21 | SYM R22 | SAN R23 | SAN R24 | SYD R25 | SYD R26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 41st | 309 |
| 2011 | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG Falcon | YMC R1 | YMC R2 | ADE R3 | ADE R4 | HAM R5 | HAM R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | BAR R9 | WIN R10 | WIN R11 | HID R12 | HID R13 | TOW R14 | TOW R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | QLD R18 | PHI R19 23 | BAT R20 Ret | SUR R21 | SUR R22 | SYM R23 | SYM R24 | SAN R25 | SAN R26 | SYD R27 | SYD R28 | | | | | | | | | | | | 71st | 109 |
| 2012 | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | SYM R3 | SYM R4 | HAM R5 | HAM R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | BAR R9 | PHI R10 | PHI R11 | HID R12 | HID R13 | TOW R14 | TOW R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | SMP R18 | SMP R19 | SAN QR 3 | SAN R20 6 | BAT R21 2 | SUR R22 | SUR R23 | YMC R24 | YMC R25 | YMC R26 | WIN R27 | WIN R28 | SYD R29 | SYD R30 | | | | | | | | | 31st | 527 |
| 2013 | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | SYM R3 | SYM R4 | SYM R5 | PUK R6 | PUK R7 | PUK R8 | PUK R9 | BAR R10 | BAR R11 | BAR R12 | COA R13 | COA R14 | COA R15 | COA R16 | HID R17 | HID R18 | HID R19 | TOW R20 | TOW R21 | QLD R22 | QLD R23 | QLD R24 | WIN R25 | WIN R26 | WIN R27 | SAN R28 17 | BAT R29 9 | SUR R30 8 | SUR R31 1 | PHI R32 | PHI R33 | PHI R34 | SYD R35 | SYD R36 | | | | 35th | 516 |
| 2014 | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | ADE R3 | SYM R4 | SYM R5 | SYM R6 | WIN R7 | WIN R8 | WIN R9 | PUK R10 | PUK R11 | PUK R12 | PUK R13 | BAR R14 | BAR R15 | BAR R16 | HID R17 | HID R18 | HID R19 | TOW R20 | TOW R21 | TOW R22 | QLD R23 | QLD R24 | QLD R25 | SMP R26 | SMP R27 | SMP R28 | SAN Q 8 | SAN R29 9 | BAT R30 Ret | SUR R31 Ret | SUR R32 6 | PHI R33 | PHI R34 | PHI R35 | SYD R36 | SYD R37 | SYD R38 | 44th | 270 |
| 2015 | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | ADE R3 | SYM R4 | SYM R5 | SYM R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | BAR R9 | WIN R10 | WIN R11 | WIN R12 | HID R13 | HID R14 | HID R15 | TOW R16 | TOW R17 | QLD R18 | QLD R19 | QLD R20 | SMP R21 | SMP R22 | SMP R23 | SAN Q 4 | SAN R24 5 | BAT R25 6 | SUR R26 2 | SUR R27 9 | PUK R28 | PUK R29 | PUK R30 | PHI R31 | PHI R32 | PHI R33 | SYD R34 | SYD R35 | SYD R36 | | | 28th | 648 |
| 2016 | Tickford Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | ADE R3 | SYM R4 | SYM R5 | PHI R6 | PHI R7 | BAR R8 | BAR R9 | WIN R10 | WIN R11 | HID R12 | HID R13 | TOW R14 | TOW R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | SMP R18 | SMP R19 | SAN Q 24 | SAN R20 23 | BAT R21 Ret | SUR R22 4 | SUR R23 5 | PUK R24 | PUK R25 | PUK R26 | PUK R27 | SYD R28 | SYD R29 | | | | | | | | | | 47th | 303 |
| 2017 | Tickford Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | SYM R3 | SYM R4 | PHI R5 | PHI R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | WIN R9 | WIN R10 | HID R11 | HID R12 | TOW R13 | TOW R14 | QLD R15 | QLD R16 | SMP R17 | SMP R18 | SAN R19 9 | BAT R20 Ret | SUR R21 8 | SUR R22 5 | PUK R23 | PUK R24 | NEW R25 | NEW R26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 43rd | 369 |
| 2018 | Tickford Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | MEL R3 | MEL R4 | MEL R5 | MEL R6 | SYM R7 | SYM R8 | PHI R9 | PHI R10 | BAR R11 | BAR R12 | WIN R13 PO | WIN R14 PO | HID R15 | HID R16 | TOW R17 | TOW R18 | QLD R19 PO | QLD R20 PO | SMP R21 | BEN R22 | BEN R23 | SAN R24 17 | BAT R25 12 | SUR R26 7 | SUR R27 C | PUK R28 | PUK R29 | NEW R30 | NEW R31 | | | | | | | | | 38th | 342 |
| 2019 | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden ZB Commodore | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | MEL R3 | MEL R4 | MEL R5 | MEL R6 | SYM R7 PO | SYM R8 PO | PHI R9 | PHI R10 | BAR R11 | BAR R12 | WIN R13 | WIN R14 | HID R15 | HID R16 | TOW R17 | TOW R18 | QLD R19 | QLD R20 | BEN R21 PO | BEN R22 PO | PUK R23 | PUK R24 | BAT R25 16 | SUR R26 17 | SUR R27 15 | SAN QR 22 | SAN R28 18 | NEW R29 | NEW R30 | | | | | | | | | 44th | 326 |

### 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 |