# List of 1981 motorsport champions

This list of 1981 motorsport champions is a list of national or international auto racing series with a Championship decided by the points or positions earned by a driver from multiple races.

## Dirt oval racing

| Series | Champion | Refer |
| World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series | Sammy Swindell | |
| World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series | Teams: Nance Speed Equipment | |

## Drag racing

| Series | Champion | Refer |
| NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series | Top Fuel: Jeb Allen | 1981 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series |
| NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series | Funny Car: Raymond Beadle | 1981 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series |
| NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series | Pro Stock: Lee Shepherd | 1981 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series |

## Karting

| Series | Driver |
| Karting World Championship | Mike Wilson |
| CIK-FIA Junior World Cup | Michel Vacirca |
| Karting European Championship | ICA: Peter De Bruijn |
| Karting European Championship | FC: Gianfranco Baroni |
| Karting European Championship | FC-2: Gianfranco Baroni |

## Motorcycle racing

| Series | Driver | Season article |
| 500cc World Championship | Marco Lucchinelli | 1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season |
| 350cc World Championship | Anton Mang | 1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season |
| 250cc World Championship | Anton Mang | 1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season |
| 125cc World Championship | Ángel Nieto | 1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season |
| 50cc World Championship | Ricardo Tormo | 1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season |
| Speedway World Championship | Bruce Penhall | 1981 Individual Speedway World Championship |
| AMA Superbike Championship | Eddie Lawson | |
| Australian Superbike Series | Rob Phillis | |

## Open wheel racing

| Series | Driver | Season article |
| FIA Formula One World Championship | Nelson Piquet | 1981 Formula One World Championship |
| FIA Formula One World Championship | Constructors: Williams-Ford | 1981 Formula One World Championship |
| CART PPG Indy Car World Series | Rick Mears | 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series |
| CART PPG Indy Car World Series | Manufacturers: Cosworth | 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series |
| CART PPG Indy Car World Series | Rookies: Bob Lazier | 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series |
| Australian Drivers' Championship | Alfredo Costanzo | 1981 Australian Drivers' Championship |
| Cup of Peace and Friendship | Jiří Moskal | 1981 Cup of Peace and Friendship |
| Cup of Peace and Friendship | Nations: East Germany | 1981 Cup of Peace and Friendship |
| Formula Atlantic | Jacques Villeneuve | 1981 Formula Atlantic season |
| Formula Nacional | Jose Luis Llobell | 1981 Formula Nacional |
| SCCA Formula Super Vee | Al Unser Jr. | 1981 SCCA Formula Super Vee season |
| South African National Drivers Championship | Bernard Tilanus | 1981 South African National Drivers Championship |
| Formula Two |||
| Australian Formula 2 Championship | John Smith | 1981 Australian Formula 2 Championship |
| European Formula Two Championship | Geoff Lees | 1981 European Formula Two Championship |
| All-Japan Formula Two Championship | Satoru Nakajima | 1981 All-Japan Formula Two Championship |
| Formula Three |||
| FIA European Formula 3 Championship | Mauro Baldi | 1981 FIA European Formula 3 Championship |
| FIA European Formula 3 Championship | Teams: Euroracing | 1981 FIA European Formula 3 Championship |
| All-Japan Formula Three Championship | Osamu Nakako | 1981 All-Japan Formula Three Championship |
| All-Japan Formula Three Championship | Teams: Hayashi Racing | 1981 All-Japan Formula Three Championship |
| British Formula Three Championship | Jonathan Palmer | 1981 British Formula Three Championship |
| Chilean Formula Three Championship | Sergio Santander | 1981 Chilean Formula Three Championship |
| French Formula Three Championship | Philippe Streiff | 1981 French Formula Three Championship |
| German Formula Three Championship | Frank Jelinski | 1981 German Formula Three Championship |
| Italian Formula Three Championship | Eddy Bianchi | 1981 Italian Formula Three Championship |
| Italian Formula Three Championship | Teams: Team del Porto | 1981 Italian Formula Three Championship |
| Soviet Formula 3 Championship | Viktor Klimanov | 1981 Soviet Formula 3 Championship |
| Swiss Formula Three Championship | Marcel Wettstein | 1981 Swiss Formula Three Championship |
| Formula Renault |||
| French Formula Renault Championship | Philippe Renault | 1981 French Formula Renault Championship |
| Formula Renault Argentina | Carlos Lauricella | 1981 Formula Renault Argentina |
| Formula Ford |||
| Australian Formula Ford Championship | Phillip Revell | 1981 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series |
| Brazilian Formula Ford Championship | Egon Herzfeldt | |
| British Formula Ford Championship | Ayrton Senna | |
| British Formula Ford 2000 Championship | Tommy Byrne | |
| Danish Formula Ford Championship | Kim Dupont | |
| European Formula Ford Championship | Cor Euser | |
| Formula Ford 1600 Netherlands | Cor Euser | |
| EFDA Formula Ford 2000 Championship | Tommy Byrne | |
| Irish Formula Ford Championship | Arnie Black | |
| New Zealand Formula Ford Championship | Jeff Pascoe | |
| Scottish Formula Ford Championship | Vic Covey | |
| Swedish Formula Ford Championship | Bengt Trägårdh | |

## Rallying

| Series | Driver | Season article |
| World Rally Championship | Ari Vatanen | 1981 World Rally Championship |
| World Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: David Richards | 1981 World Rally Championship |
| World Rally Championship | Manufacturers: Talbot | 1981 World Rally Championship |
| African Rally Championship | Shekhar Mehta | 1981 African Rally Championship |
| Australian Rally Championship | Geoff Portman | 1981 Australian Rally Championship |
| Australian Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Ross Runnalls | 1981 Australian Rally Championship |
| British Rally Championship | Jimmy McRae | 1981 British Rally Championship |
| British Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Ian Grindrod | 1981 British Rally Championship |
| Canadian Rally Championship | Randy Black | 1981 Canadian Rally Championship |
| Canadian Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Bob Lee | 1981 Canadian Rally Championship |
| Deutsche Rallye Meisterschaft | Alfons Stock | |
| Estonian Rally Championship | Ivar Peedu | 1981 Estonian Rally Championship |
| Estonian Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Juhan Kasemaa | 1981 Estonian Rally Championship |
| European Rally Championship | Adartico Vudafieri | 1981 European Rally Championship |
| European Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Arnaldo Bernacchini | 1981 European Rally Championship |
| Finnish Rally Championship | Group 1: Antero Laine | 1981 Finnish Rally Championship |
| Finnish Rally Championship | Group 2: Kyösti Hämäläinen | 1981 Finnish Rally Championship |
| French Rally Championship | Bruno Saby | |
| Hungarian Rally Championship | Attila Ferjáncz | |
| Hungarian Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: János Tandari | |
| Italian Rally Championship | Antonio Fassina | |
| Italian Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Rudy Dal Pozzo | |
| Italian Rally Championship | Manufacturers: Opel | |
| New Zealand Rally Championship | Jim Donald | 1981 New Zealand Rally Championship |
| Polish Rally Championship | Tomasz Ciecierzyński | |
| Romanian Rally Championship | Ludovic Balint | |
| Scottish Rally Championship | Donald Heggie | |
| Scottish Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Ian Mungall | |
| South African National Rally Championship | Sarel van der Merwe | |
| South African National Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Franz Boshoff | |
| South African National Rally Championship | Manufacturers: Toyota | |
| Spanish Rally Championship | Jorge de Bagration | |
| Spanish Rally Championship | Co-Drivers: Ignacio Lewin | |

### Rallycross

| Series | Driver |
| FIA European Rallycross Championship | TC: Martin Schanche |
| FIA European Rallycross Championship | GT: Matti Alamäki |
| British Rallycross Championship | Keith Ripp |

## Sports car and GT

| Series | Driver | Season article |
| World Sportscar Championship | Bob Garretson | 1981 World Sportscar Championship |
| World Sportscar Championship | Over 2000cc Makes: Porsche | 1981 World Sportscar Championship |
| World Sportscar Championship | Under 2000cc Makes: Lancia | 1981 World Sportscar Championship |
| IMSA GT Championship | GTX: Brian Redman | 1981 IMSA GT Championship |
| IMSA GT Championship | GTO: David Cowart | 1981 IMSA GT Championship |
| IMSA GT Championship | GTU: Lee Mueller | 1981 IMSA GT Championship |
| Australian Sports Sedan Championship | Tony Edmonson | 1981 Australian Sports Sedan Championship |
| Australian Sports Car Championship | John Latham | 1981 Australian Sports Car Championship |
| Can-Am | Geoff Brabham | 1981 Can-Am season |
| Can-Am | Under 2-Litre: Jim Trueman | 1981 Can-Am season |

## Stock car racing

| Series | Driver | Season article |
| NASCAR Winston Cup Series | Darrell Waltrip | 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series |
| NASCAR Winston Cup Series | Manufacturers: Buick | 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series |
| NASCAR Winston West Series | Roy Smith | 1981 NASCAR Winston West Series |
| ARCA Racing Series | Larry Moyer | 1981 ARCA Racing Series |
| Turismo Carretera (1980–1981) | Antonio Aventín | 1980–1981 Turismo Carretera |
| Turismo Carretera (1981) | Roberto Mouras | 1981 Turismo Carretera |
| USAC Stock Car National Championship | Dean Roper | 1981 USAC Stock Car National Championship |

## Touring car

| Series | Driver | Season article |
| European Touring Car Championship | Umberto Grano Helmut Kelleners | 1981 European Touring Car Championship |
| Australian Endurance Championship | Toyota | 1981 Australian Endurance Championship |
| Australian Touring Car Championship | Dick Johnson | 1981 Australian Touring Car Championship |
| British Saloon Car Championship | Win Percy | 1981 British Saloon Car Championship |
| Coupe d'Europe Renault 5 Alpine | Wolfgang Schütz | 1981 Coupe d'Europe Renault 5 Alpine |
| Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft | Klaus Ludwig | 1981 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft |
| French Supertouring Championship | Jean-Pierre Malcher | 1981 French Supertouring Championship |
| Stock Car Brasil | Affonso Giaffone Jr. | 1981 Stock Car Brasil season |
| TC2000 Championship | Jorge Omar del Río | 1981 TC2000 Championship |