The following is an overview of the events of 1988 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1–22 January | 10th Dakar Rally | [1] |
| 30–31 January | 26th 24 Hours of Daytona | [2] |
| 14 February | 30th Daytona 500 | [3] |
| 15 May | 46th Monaco Grand Prix | [4] |
| 29 May | 72nd Indianapolis 500 | [5] |
| 30 May-10 June | 71st Isle of Man TT | [6] |
| 11–12 June | 56th 24 Hours of Le Mans | [7] |
| 18–19 June | 16th 24 Hours of Nurburgring | [8] |
| 30–31 July | 40th 24 Hours of Spa | [9] |
| 31 July | 11th Suzuka 8 Hours | [10] |
| 2 October | 29th Tooheys 1000 | [11] |
| 27 November | 35th Macau Grand Prix | [12] |
| 4 December | 1st Race of Champions | [13] |
| Date | Month | Name | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | June | Courtney Force | American | Drag racer | ||
| 31 | October | Sébastien Buemi | Swiss | Racing driver | FIA World Endurance champion (2014). Formula E champion (2015–16). | [14] |
| 6 | December | Johan Kristoffersson | Swedish | Racing driver | FIA World Rallycross champion (2017, 2018). | [15] |
| 28 | Elfyn Evans | British | Rally driver | 2017 Wales Rally GB winner. | [16] |
| Date | Month | Name | Age | Nationality | Occupation | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | January | Piero Taruffi | 81 | Italian | Racing driver | 1952 Swiss Grand Prix winner | [17] |
| 30 | September | Al Holbert | 41 | American | Racing driver | 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (1983, 1986-1987). | [18] |