R5 LITES RACES - Besnard bows to new Lites King, Canto
27/8/2000 19:27 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Not even new V8 sensation David Besnard could stop young Ford campaigner Dean Canto from claiming the inaugural Konica V8 Lites Championship at Mallala Raceway today.
19-year-old Canto was crowned the King of the new V8 Supercar development class after holding-off title hopefuls Matthew White, Ryan McLeod and Wayne Wakefield at today’s series Grand Final.
The win put a smile on the faces of Ford fans and administrators, and could prove a nice consolation prize should the woes of the Blue Oval continue in the Supercar formula this year. Canto’s crown is Ford’s first championship title since Glenn Seton’s in 1997.
Canto will pilot a Ford-Tickford Racing Falcon at the Queensland 500 in a fortnight’s time, and today’s win proves the faith Glenn Seton and the FTR team showed in Canto at an early stage was justified.
At just 19 years of age, Canto is sure to become a regular in the Supercar class next season, as one of the rising talents in Australian motorsport.
Former AUSCAR champ Matthew White retained his second place in the championship but failed to make a dent in the lead of Canto’s throughout the day, falling 31 points short.
Wayne Wakefield finished the year in third, jumping ahead of Ryan McLeod after today’s proceedings.
Canto, who treated the crowd to a burnout display after his win, could hardly contain his excitement.
"I just couldn’t be happier!” Canto exclaimed. I’ve only had three podium finishes (in the five-round series) but it’s enough to win the championship."
David Besnard’s enduro training regime with the Stone Brothers outfit again resulted in a dominant performance, with two race victories enough to secure his second round win from as many attempts.
Besnard finishes his brief Lites outing in fifth place on the championship table, after only competing in two of the five meetings.
The former Australian and American Formula Ford champ held Canto at bay in both the first and third races to record his third and fourth Lites race victories.
Besnard’s relegation to sixth on the grid in the second race (under the inverted grid rules) cleared a path for Canto to take his fifth race win of the season.
Matthew White joined Besnard and Canto on the round podium with two thirds and a second in today’s three 20-minute races.
Canto (and, of course, today’s Rugby League victors the Brisbane Broncos) shared the Grand Final day spoils with Simon Wills, who wrapped-up the Formula Holden Championship ahead of series debutant Christian Murchison, and Luke Youlden, who claimed the Formula Ford crown.
After a successful debut year, the Lites class will return to a race circuit near you next season, albeit with some planned structural changes.
It is believed the “Lites” tag will be dumped, the majority of rounds to play support to the Shell Series rather than stand alone, and, after the amazing success of SBR’s Besnard, Level 1 teams won’t be welcome.
**RACE ONE TOP TEN**
1st DAVID BESNARD (Caltex Havoline Racing) - EL Falcon
2nd DEAN CANTO (BMC Software Racing) - EL Falcon
3rd MATTHEW WHITE (Terry Wyhoon Racing) - VS Commodore
4th RYAN McLEOD (JFR K-Mart Racing) - VS Commodore
5th WAYNE WAKFIELD (Graphic Skills Racing) - VS Commodore
6th CRAIG HARRIS (Carsales.com.au Racing) - EL Falcon
7th TERRY WYHOON (Terry Wyhoon Racing) - VS Commodore
8th LUKE SIEDERS (All-Trans Trucks Racing) - EL Falcon
9th ALAN HEATH (Power Racing) - EL Falcon
10th BILL SIEDERS (All-Trans Trucks Racing) - EL Falcon
**RACE TWO TOP TEN**
1st DEAN CANTO (BMC Software Racing) - EL Falcon
2nd MATTHEW WHITE (Terry Wyhoon Racing) - VS Commodore
3rd DAVID BESNARD (Caltex Havoline Racing) - EL Falcon
4th CRAIG HARRIS (Carsales.com.au Racing) - EL Falcon
5th WAYNE WAKFIELD (Graphic Skills Racing) - VS Commodore
6th ALAN HEATH (Power Racing) - EL Falcon
7th PETER FIELD (South Pacific Motor Racing) - VS Commodore
8th ROGER HURD (The Xerox Shop) - VS Commodore
9th GARRY HOLT (Eastern Creek Karts) - EL Falcon
10th RYAN McLEOD (JFR K-Mart Racing) - VS Commodore
**RACE THREE TOP TEN**
1st DAVID BESNARD (Caltex Havoline Racing) - EL Falcon
2nd DEAN CANTO (BMC Software Racing) - EL Falcon
3rd MATTHEW WHITE (Terry Wyhoon Racing) - VS Commodore
4th WAYNE WAKFIELD (Graphic Skills Racing) - VS Commodore
5th CRAIG HARRIS (Carsales.com.au Racing) - EL Falcon
6th RYAN McLEOD (JFR K-Mart Racing) - VS Commodore
7th DANIEL MILLER (Miller Racing) - VS Commodore
8th CHRIS BUTLER (Riverlea Motorsport) - VS Commodore
9th ROGER HURD (The Xerox Shop) - VS Commodore
10th ALAN HEATH (Power Racing) - EL Falcon
**CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE**
1st DEAN CANTO (BMC Software Racing) - EL Falcon [229]
2nd MATHEW WHITE (Terry Wyhoon Racing) - VS Commodore [198]
3rd WAYNE WAKEFIELD (Graphic Skills Racing) - VS Commodore [164]
4th RYAN McLEOD (JFR K-Mart Racing) - VS Commodore [157]
5th DAVID BESNARD (Caltex Havoline Racing) - EL Falcon [108]
6th CRAIG HARRIS (Carsales.com.au Racing) - EL Falcon [87]
7th DANIEL MILLER (Miller Racing) - VS Commodore [72]
8th GARY HOLT (Eastern Creek Karts Racing) - EL Falcon [70]
9th MAL ROSE (Mal Rose Racing) - VS Commodore [54]
=10th NEIL SCHEMBRI (Gearbox Motorsport) - EL Falcon [43]
=10th TERRY WYHOONI (Terry Wyhoon Racing) - VS Commodore [43]
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