1961 in motorsport
# 1961 in motorsport

The following is an overview of the events of 1961 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 own significance separate from the championship. For the dates of the championship events see related season articles.

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 26 February | 3rd Daytona 500 |
| 30 April | 45th Targa Florio |
| 14 May | 19th Monaco Grand Prix |
| 30 May | 45th Indianapolis 500 |
| 10–11 June | 29th 24 Hours of Le Mans |
| 12–16 June | 43rd Isle of Man TT |
| 19 November | 2nd Armstrong 500 |
| 19 November | 8th Macau Grand Prix |

## Births

| Date | Month | Name | Nationality | Occupation | Note |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 19 | February | Andy Wallace | British | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1988). |
| 20 | April | Paolo Barilla | Italian | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1985). |
| 23 | April | Pierluigi Martini | Italian | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1999). |
| 23 | June | Ian Duncan | Kenyan | Rally driver | 1994 Safari Rally winner. |
| 28 | July | Yannick Dalmas | French | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1992, 1994-1995, 1999). World Endurance champion (1992). |
| 6 | December | Manuel Reuter | German | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1989, 1996). |
| 20 | December | Freddie Spencer | American | Motorcycle racer | 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champion (1983, 1985). |
