The following is an overview of the events of 2001 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1–21 January | 23rd Dakar Rally | [1] |
| 3–4 February | 39th 24 Hours of Daytona | [2] |
| 18 February | 43rd Daytona 500 | [3] |
| 26–27 May | 29th 24 Hours of Nurburgring | [4] |
| 27 May | 59th Monaco Grand Prix | [5] |
| 27 May | 85th Indianapolis 500 | [6] |
| 16–17 June | 69th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [7] |
| 4–5 August | 53rd 24 Hours of Spa | [8] |
| 5 August | 24th Suzuka 8 Hours | [9] |
| 5 August | 11th Masters of Formula 3 | [10] |
| 7 October | 44th V8 Supercar 1000 | [11] |
| 18 November | 48th Macau Grand Prix | [12] |
| 8–9 December | 14th Race of Champions | [13] |
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | January | Louis Krages | 51 | German | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1985). | [14] |
| 18 | February | Dale Earnhardt | 49 | American | Racing Driver | 1998 Daytona 500 Winner, Seven-Time NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion | |
| 10 | March | Jorge Recalde | 49 | Argentine | Rally driver | 1988 Rally Argentina winner. | [15] |
| 16 | March | Bob Wollek | 57 | French | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Daytona winner (1983, 1985, 1989, 1991) | |
| 25 | April | Michele Alboreto | 44 | Italian | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1997). | [16] |
| 26 | May | Vittorio Brambilla | 63 | Italian | Racing driver | 1975 Austrian Grand Prix winner. | [17] |
