The following is an overview of the events of 2008 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 26–27 January | 46th 24 Hours of Daytona | [1] |
| 17 February | 50th Daytona 500 | [2] |
| 24–25 May | 36th 24 Hours of Nurburgring | [3] |
| 25 May | 66th Monaco Grand Prix | [4] |
| 25 May | 92nd Indianapolis 500 | [5] |
| 24 May-7 June | 90th Isle of Man TT | [6] |
| 14–15 June | 76th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [7] |
| 27 July | 31st Suzuka 8 Hours | [8] |
| 2–3 August | 60th 24 Hours of Spa | [9] |
| 10 August | 18th Masters of Formula 3 | [10] |
| 12 October | 51st Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 | [11] |
| 16 November | 55th Macau Grand Prix | [12] |
| 14 December | 21st Race of Champions | [13] |
| Last race | Championship | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 31 August | Superleague Formula | [14] |
| Last race | Championship | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 21 September | SEAT Cupra Championship | [15] |
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | February | Tony Rolt | 89 | British | Racing driver and engineer | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1953). | [16] |
| 23 | Paul Frère | 91 | Belgian | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1960). | [17] | |
| 27 | March | Jean-Marie Balestre | 86 | French | Auto racing executive administrator | The 9th FIA president | [18] |
| 13 | June | Ove Andersson | 70 | Swedish | Rally driver | 1975 Safari Rally winner. | [19] |
| 28 | August | Phil Hill | 81 | American | Racing driver | Formula One World Champion (1961). 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1958, 1961-1962). | [20] |
