Chalandon was born in Décines-Charpieu, France on 26 September 1986. He began his motorsport career in karting, competing in the X30 class of the French Karting Championship in 2005, where he finished fifth.
He transitioned to car racing in 2008, entering the Formul'Academy Euro Series and finishing twentieth with one point. In 2009, Chalandon joined the Formula Le Mans Cup, driving for Boutsen Energy Racing in an Oreca FLM09. He partnered with Dimitri Enjalbert for the Algarve round, achieving a third-place finish in race one and a fifth-place finish in race two. Further outings with Enjalbert at Nürburgring yielded another third-place finish in race one, alongside a fourth-place in race two. Dominik Kraihamer replaced Enjalbert at Silverstone, where the duo secured a fifth-place finish in race one. Johan-Boris Scheier partnered Chalandon in the season finale at Magny-Cours, resulting in a third-place finish in race two. He finished seventh overall in the championship, accumulating 89 points from 12 races.
In 2010, the Formula Le Mans Cup was integrated into the Le Mans Series, and Chalandon joined DAMS, partnering Andrea Barlesi and Alessandro Cicognani. The team finished third in class at the 8 Hours of Le Castellet, their first Le Mans Series race. Following an injury to Christian Ebbesvik of Team Bruichladdich during the 1000 km of Spa, Chalandon was selected as his replacement for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driving a Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S/2 alongside Tim Greaves and Karim Ojjeh, the team finished fifth in the LMP2 category. Greaves praised Chalandon’s performance, stating, “Gary did extremely well in his first Le Mans practice and qualifying. He is one of the youngest drivers on the grid and we are very pleased with all aspects of his driving and attitude.” Chalandon returned to the Le Mans Series after Le Mans, achieving second in class at the 1000 km of Algarve, and then securing his first class victory at the 1000 km of Hungaroring. A fourth-place finish in class at the 1000 km of Silverstone secured the Formula Le Mans title for Chalandon, by a margin of two points.
For 2011, Chalandon rejoined Team Bruichladdich, renamed Greaves Motorsport, in the LMP2 category of the Le Mans Series. He partnered with Tom Kimber-Smith and Ojjeh in a Zytek Z11SN. Prior to the Le Mans Series, Chalandon competed in the Sportscars Winter Series, achieving a victory, a fourth-place, and a sixth-place finish alongside Ojjeh in a Radical. The team won their class at the 6 Hours of Castellet, finishing third overall. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans test session, Chalandon, Ojjeh and Kimber-Smith were joined by Alex Brundle, with Kimber-Smith setting the third fastest time in the LMP2 class. The 1000 km of Spa proved less successful, with the team finishing eighth in class after an incident-filled race. This marked the end of Chalandon’s time with Greaves Motorsport, as he was replaced by Olivier Lombard. His two races with the team were enough for 11th in the LMP2 category, with 20 points.
Chalandon also competed in the FFSA GT Championship and the FIA GT3 European Championship in 2011. He entered the Magny-Cours round of the FFSA GT Championship alongside Didier André in a Team WRT-entered Audi R8 LMS, finishing fourteenth and fifteenth in the two races. The following week, André and Chalandon entered the Paul Ricard round of the FIA GT3 European Championship, finishing sixteenth in race one and twelfth in race two.
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