The following is an overview of the events of 1971 in motorsport including the major racing events, motorsport venues that were opened and closed during a year, championships and non-championship events that were established and disestablished in a year, and births and deaths of racing drivers and other motorsport people.
The calendar includes only annual major non-championship events or annual events that had significance separate from the championship. For the dates of the championship events see related season articles.
| Date | Event | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 30–31 January | 10th 24 Hours of Daytona | [1] |
| 14 February | 13th Daytona 500 | [2] |
| February | 1971 NHRA Winternationals | |
| 6 May | 55th Targa Florio | [3] |
| 23 May | 29th Monaco Grand Prix | [4] |
| 29 May | 55th Indianapolis 500 | [5] |
| 5–12 June | 53rd Isle of Man TT | [6] |
| 12–13 June | 39th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [7] |
| 26–27 June | 2nd 24 Hours of Nurburgring | [8] |
| 24–25 July | 23rd 24 Hours of Spa | [9] |
| July | 1971 NHRA Summernationals | |
| 3 October | 12th Hardie-Ferodo 500 | [10] |
| 21 November | 18th Macau Grand Prix | [11] |
| Date | Month | Name | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | January | Richard Burns | British | Rally driver | World Rally champion (2001). | [12] |
| 25 | Luca Badoer | Italian | Racing driver | [13] | ||
| 24 | February | Pedro de la Rosa | Spanish | Racing driver | 1997 Formula Nippon and All Japan GTC champion, GPDA chairman (2008-2010, 2012–2014). | [14] |
| 27 | March | David Coulthard | British | Racing driver | Winner of the 13 Formula One Grand Prix, 1991 Macau Grand Prix and 1991 Masters of Formula 3, GPDA chairman (2005-2006). | [15] |
| 3 | April | Emmanuel Collard | French | Racing driver | 2005 24 Hours of Daytona winner. | [16] |
| 9 | Jacques Villeneuve | Canadian | Racing driver | Formula One World Champion (1997), 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner. | [17] | |
| 26 | June | Max Biaggi | Italian | Motorcycle racer | Superbike World champion (2010, 2012). | [18] |
| 27 | November | Troy Corser | Australian | Motorcycle racer | Superbike World champion (1996, 2005). | [19] |
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | February | Lew "sneaky Pete" Robinson | 37 | American | Drag racer | [20] | |
| 11 | July | Pedro Rodríguez | 31 | Mexican | Racing driver | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1968) | [21] |
