Dean began his career in kart racing, before moving into club-racing in 1963, after the motor-dealership he worked for acquired a Lotus Eleven.
[4] In 1966, Dean drove in various single-seat formulae in the UK, competing mainly in the BRSCC championship with a Lotus 41 or Brabham BT18 entered in conjunction with John Willment.
[4] In 1969, Dean continued to enter domestic national and international level events finishing seventh in the Brands Hatch six hour race in a Chevron B8.
In July, alongside Richard Attwood and Vic Elford, he finished second in a six-hour race at Watkins Glen, in a Porsche 908.
[4] However, the Porsche 908 finished sixth in the Brands Hatch 1,000 km race co-driven by Gérard Larrousse and G. Koch, but Dean did not participate.
[7] He then returned to the Can-Am championship, entering under his own name, with a fourth-placed finish at Mosport Park in June, but was seven laps behind the winning McLaren M8D of Dan Gurney.
[8] At the next round at St. Jovite, Dean did not start and subsequently failed to finish in a six-hour race at Watkins Glen, where the car was co-driven by Revson.
[15] In 1971, Dean began the year with a victory at Oulton Park with the Porsche 908,[4] followed by a seventh place in the International Trophy at Silverstone in a McLaren M7A-Chevrolet.
[16] Dean then returned to the Can-Am series with a McLaren M8D, but after not-starting at Mosport in June, the car finished fourth at St. Jovite two weeks later driven by Chuck Parsons.
He did not start the Can-Am rounds at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca (entering the McLaren on both occasions) but finished the year with 14th place at Riverside using the Porsche.
[4] He dropped to 16th in the F5000 championship but won a wet two-part (restarted) race at Brands Hatch on August Bank Holiday Monday.
[23] Although Dean's career in major championships declined after the Aurora series, he continued to race, and was still competing in large-capacity single-seaters in America in his 60s.
[2] Dean spent most of his working life in the motor trade, as a result of which, together with an ability to obtain sponsorship, he was able to fund his racing career.
[1] Dean was convicted of evading duty on cigars imported into the UK, possibly as a result of his association with Bobby Brown, who never faced charges.