1981 in motorsport


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.

Annual events

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.
DateEventRef
1–20 January3rd Dakar Rally
31 January-1 February19th 24 Hours of Daytona
15 February23rd Daytona 500
24 May65th Indianapolis 500
31 May39th Monaco Grand Prix
6–11 June64th Isle of Man TT
13–14 June49th 24 Hours of Le Mans
3–4 October10th 24 Hours of Nurburgring
25–26 July33rd 24 Hours of Spa
26 July4th Suzuka 8 Hours
5 October22nd James Hardie 1000
15 November28th Macau Grand Prix