The following is an overview of the events of 1980 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1–23 January | 2nd Dakar Rally | [1] |
| 2–3 February | 18th 24 Hours of Daytona | [2] |
| 17 February | 22nd Daytona 500 | [3] |
| 18 May | 38th Monaco Grand Prix | [4] |
| 25 May | 64th Indianapolis 500 | [5] |
| 31 May-6 June | 63rd Isle of Man TT | [6] |
| 14–15 June | 48th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [7] |
| 26–27 July | 32nd 24 Hours of Spa | [8] |
| 27 July | 3rd Suzuka 8 Hours | [9] |
| 4–5 October | 9th 24 Hours of Nurburgring | [10] |
| 5 October | 21st Hardie-Ferodo 1000 | [11] |
| 16 November | 27th Macau Grand Prix | [12] |
| Date | Month | Name | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | January | Jenson Button | British | Racing driver | Formula One World Champion (2009). | [13] |
| 4 | July | Marc Lieb | German | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (2016). FIA World Endurance champion (2016). | [14] |
| 22 | Scott Dixon | New Zealand | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (2008). | [15] | |
| 5 | October | James Toseland | British | Motorcycle racer | Superbike World champion (2004, 2007). | [16] |
| 18 | November | François Duval | Belgian | Rally driver | 2005 Rally Australia winner. | [17] |
| 14 | December | Thed Björk | Swedish | Racing driver | World Touring Car champion (2017). | [18] |
| 17 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (2014). | [19] |
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | January | Raymond Mays | 80 | British | Racing driver | One of the first British Formula One drivers. | [20] |
| 26 | November | Pete DePaolo | 82 | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1925). | [21] |
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