MARK Winterbottom has often spoken about the value of having a quality, experienced co-driver for the Bathurst 1000 and this year when the defending V8 Supercars champion heads to Mount Panorama that is exactly what he will have.

Late last week Prodrive Racing announced that Dean Canto would join Winterbottom in the number one Ford Falcon FGX for the Great Race.

Between them they boast 30 starts in the Bathurst 1000 and three podium finishes – Winterbottom having won in 2013 and placed second last year while Canto was the runner-up in 2012 alongside David Reynolds.

After four years of acting as co-driver for Reynolds, Prodrive said changes within the team  and “ergonomic requirements” meant Canto was the right choice to pair with Winterbottom.

The man nicknamed ‘Frosty’ shared his seat with Steve Owen in the last two editions of the Great Race.

Prodrive team principal Tim Edwards is confident the new pairing can rank amongst the favourites for the Pirtek Enduro Cup, of which the highlight is the Bathurst 1000.

“Obviously Dean is one of the proven co-drivers in the field and we know he is hungry to win races,” Edwards said.

“He’s been with us for nine years now and we know we can count on him to do what we need him to do on track and not make too many mistakes, which is what you need for races like Bathurst and Gold Coast.”

Canto actually made his debut in the Bathurst 1000 four years before Winterbottom, having taken on the 161-lap Mount Panorama epic for the first time in 1999.

Since then the now 35-year-old has been a regular and this year will mark his ninth as a member of the Ford outfit.

Canto is also a dual winner of the V8 Development Series and has twice stood on the top tier of the podium at the Gold Coast 600.

Winterbottom, who made his Great Race debut in 2003 alongside Mark Noske, knows that Canto has the experience and the talent to help him be near the front of the grid.

“It makes sense for a lot of reasons and I am really excited to be pairing up with him this year,” Winterbottom said.

“He’s a really talented, reliable driver and he has always been one of those guys who I’ve wanted to drive with. 

“He has a wealth of experience and is hungry to win races as well. He started Bathurst from pole position last year and did a fantastic job in that race.

“He might have the opportunity to start some races for us, who knows? But the best thing about him is that I know that when he gets in the car you know he’s going to try and get you in the best possible position to close out the race.”

Canto is also looking forward to seeing what the new partnership can produce.

“We’ve been team-mates for a long time now, but haven’t actually driven together, so that’ll be a fun experience,” he said

“I’ve sat in countless engineering briefings with Mark and his engineer Jason [Gray], so I know of how they operate. But you never know what’s going to be different with the car, so getting these first few practice sessions in will be important.”

Canto will make his debut in car #1 in practice at the Winton SuperSprint on May 20.