Team Komo will bring a second driver to join Jiawei Chen behind the wheel of its BMW M4 GT4 F82 for the upcoming LIQUI MOLY GT Festival The Bend, with Dylan Canto confirmed for the role.
The son of team boss and Supercars stalwart Dean Canto, the teenager has received the tick of approval to make his Monochrome GT4 Australia debut following a positive run of testing alongside Chen in the BMW, with the pair to contest the Silver class.
While next month’s event will mark Canto’s first ever race meeting in a GT4 car, it won’t be his first time competing at a national level, having made his racing debut at the Radical Cup Australia season finale at The Bend last year.
Prior to his maiden Radical Cup Australia appearance, Canto spent the majority of his youth as a prominent sim racer - building the basic skills and race craft required to compete at a high level on the sim.
The years spent in the sim have fast-tracked his development behind the wheel, so much so that in testing with Chen, Canto was not far off the pace and proved himself capable.
Chen himself had a solid Monochrome GT4 Australia debut at Phillip Island in March, having finished both races, and will be looking to build on his experience and climb up the Silver standings with Canto alongside him.
The pair will team up for the second round of the Monochrome GT4 Australia series, which takes place as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries’ LIQUI MOLY GT Festival The Bend on 8-10 May.
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Dylan Canto
#222 Team Komo BMW M4 GT4 F82
“It’s a big opportunity, and I don’t take that lightly, so I’m really grateful to be in this position – especially since motorsport isn’t easy to get into. I just want to enjoy the experience and hopefully do a good job,” Canto said.
“I’ve spent a lot of time sim racing over the past few years, and it’s taught me a huge amount about race craft and consistency. Being able to apply that in a real car is a pretty exciting step for me.
“Sim racing might not be considered the real thing, but it gives you a place to make mistakes and learn from them without consequences. I think that’s helped me develop a lot when stepping into a real car.
“Last year at The Bend was my first real taste of racing, and I really enjoyed it. Just getting out there and racing cleanly gave me a lot of confidence, but I’m still learning every time I’m in the car. I like going through the data, comparing laps, and figuring out where I can improve.
“I’ve been really happy with how testing has gone so far. Being within a few tenths of Jiawei gives me confidence I can step in and do a solid job, but I know there’s still a lot more to learn.
“At the end of the day, the goal for me is to keep improving and get as much out of the experience as I can, while also simply enjoying it.
“It’s a great category to learn in and a really good environment to be part of. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself. It’s about doing the best job I can and making the most of every lap.”