The following is an overview of the events of 1981 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1–20 January | 3rd Dakar Rally | [1] |
| 31 January-1 February | 19th 24 Hours of Daytona | [2] |
| 15 February | 23rd Daytona 500 | [3] |
| 24 May | 65th Indianapolis 500 | [4] |
| 31 May | 39th Monaco Grand Prix | [5] |
| 6–11 June | 64th Isle of Man TT | [6] |
| 13–14 June | 49th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [7] |
| 3–4 October | 10th 24 Hours of Nurburgring | [8] |
| 25–26 July | 33rd 24 Hours of Spa | [9] |
| 26 July | 4th Suzuka 8 Hours | [10] |
| 5 October | 22nd James Hardie 1000 | [11] |
| 15 November | 28th Macau Grand Prix | [12] |
| Date | Month | Name | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | Zsolt Baumgartner | Hungarian | Racing driver | The first Hungarian Formula One driver. | [13] |
| 24 | February | Timo Bernhard | German | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (2010, 2017). FIA World Endurance champion (2015, 2017). | [14] |
| 1 | March | Will Power | Australian | Racing driver | Winner of the Indianapolis 500 (2018). | [15] |
| 29 | July | Fernando Alonso | Spanish | Racing driver | Formula One World Champion (2005-2006). FIA World Endurance champion (2018-19). | [16] |
| 30 | Nicky Hayden | American | Motorcycle racer | MotoGP World champion (2006). | [17] | |
| 19 | October | Heikki Kovalainen | Finnish | Racing driver | 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix winner. | [18] |
| 31 | Mike Rockenfeller | German | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (2010). Le Mans Series champion (2008). | [19] | |
| 19 | November | André Lotterer | German | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (2011-2012, 2014). FIA World Endurance champion (2012). | [20] |
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | Mauri Rose | 84 | American | Racing driver | Indianapolis 500 winner (1941, 1947-1948). | [21] |
| 9 | Sammy Davis | 93 | British | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1927). | [22] | |
| 21 | Cuth Harrison | 74 | British | Racing driver | One of the first British Formula One drivers. | [23] | |
| 23 | March | Mike Hailwood | 40 | British | Motorcycle racer | 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champion (1962-1965). | [24] |
| 13 | October | Philippe Étancelin | 84 | French | Racing driver | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1934) | [25] |
Sports
