Qatar Motorsport Events 2026: Lusail Racing, Baja, Formula 1 & More

Qatar’s motorsport season moves quickly once October arrives.

Within just a few weeks, the calendar moves from local touring-car and motorcycle racing at Lusail International Circuit to the FIA World Endurance Championship and then out into the desert for the Qatar International Baja. Formula 1 follows in late November, before Qatar’s national championships return for another run of events in December.

For a relatively compact country, that makes Qatar one of the easier places in the Gulf to experience several very different forms of motorsport during a single season.

GulfShows tracks these events on the continuously updated Qatar car and motorsport events calendar.

Next Motorsport Events in Qatar

For readers looking primarily for dates, these are some of the next major events currently scheduled:

• 1–3 October, 2026 - Qatar Superstock (QSTK) Official Test & Round 1
• 1–3 October, 2026 - Qatar Touring Car Championship Official Test & Round 1
• 9–10 October, 2026 - QORC Motorcycle Survival 2
• 23–24 October, 2026 - QSTK and Qatar Touring Car Championship Round 2
• 28–31 October, 2026 - Qatar International Baja
• 27–29 November, 2026 - Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix

The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation's current calendar was updated on 22 September and lists both international and national-level events through the end of the year.

October starts with cars and motorcycles at Lusail

The first major weekend of October combines two of Qatar's domestic circuit-racing championships.

The Qatar Superstock championship and Qatar Touring Car Championship both begin with official testing and their first rounds from 1–3 October. QMMF

That combination is useful for spectators because it gives the weekend considerably more variety than a single-category race meeting. Touring cars bring close circuit racing on four wheels, while Qatar Superstock puts motorcycle competition on the same Lusail calendar.

The championships return again on 23–24 October for their second rounds. QMMF describes the weekend as a combined motorcycle and touring-car meeting at Lusail International Circuit. QMMF

For anyone wanting to see Qatar motorsport without the scale and crowds of Formula 1, these national race weekends are worth following.

Qatar's off-road season heads into the desert

Circuit racing is only one side of the country's motorsport scene.

The Qatar Off-Road Championship, or QORC, includes competition for both motorcycles and cars away from the circuit environment.

The next motorcycle Survival round is scheduled for 9-10 October. QMMF describes the motorcycle championship as a test of navigation, endurance and technical off-road riding across desert terrain. QMMF

More QORC events follow later in the year, including car rally competition on 4-5 December and Baja rounds for motorcycles and cars on 10-11 December. QMMF

That mix is one reason Qatar's calendar is more varied than simply looking at Lusail International Circuit would suggest.

Qatar 1812 Km will not take place in 2026

The Qatar 1812 Km, originally planned as part of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, has been cancelled.

The race was initially scheduled for March before being postponed to 22–24 October 2026. On 28 July, however, the FIA and FIA WEC confirmed that the Qatar round would no longer take place this season.

The decision was made because ongoing regional developments were continuing to affect freight and travel arrangements. Qatar and Bahrain were both removed from the final part of the 2026 WEC calendar, with replacement races scheduled in Barcelona and Monza. FIA Admin

QMMF and Lusail International Circuit said they support the decision and intend to continue working with FIA WEC on the championship’s return. 

Qatar International Baja: from Lusail to the desert

Only a few days after the WEC weekend, the focus shifts completely.

The 2026 Qatar International Baja takes place from 28–31 October and forms part of the FIA World Baja Cup, FIA Middle East Baja Cup and FIM Bajas World Cup. QMMF

The 2026 route is substantial.

QMMF says competitors will face 538.44 competitive kilometres within an overall route of 940.28 km. The opening competitive day includes 336.34 km against the clock through northern and central Qatar, while the final day takes the field south towards the dunes around Sealine. QMMF

Cars and motorcycles both take part, which gives the Baja a very different character from the events at Lusail.

The circuit still plays an important logistical role - scrutineering, servicing and other event operations are based there - but most of the competition takes place far beyond its barriers.

For Gulf motorsport as a whole, the Baja is particularly interesting because it represents something the region can offer naturally: long-distance competition across terrain that simply cannot be replicated on a conventional race circuit.

Formula 1 returns to Qatar in November

The biggest spectator event on the Qatar motorsport calendar arrives from 27-29 November.

The Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix takes place at Lusail International Circuit, with practice beginning on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday 29 November. Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website

Qatar is the penultimate race weekend on the official 2026 Formula 1 calendar. Abu Dhabi follows one week later to close the season. Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website

The 5.419 km Lusail circuit originally opened for motorcycle racing and hosted Qatar's first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2021. Qatar subsequently secured a longer-term agreement to continue hosting Formula 1. Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website

For visitors travelling specifically for a major international event, the Formula 1 weekend is naturally the centrepiece of Qatar's late-season calendar.

But viewed alongside everything happening in October and December, it is only one part of a considerably larger motorsport programme.

December returns the focus to national racing

After Formula 1 leaves Lusail, Qatar's domestic championships continue.

The current QMMF calendar includes:

• 4–5 December - QORC Cars Rally 2
• 10–11 December - QORC Motorcycle Baja 2
• 10–11 December - QORC Cars Baja 2
• 18–19 December - Qatar Superstock Round 3
• 18–19 December - Qatar Touring Car Championship Round 3 

The final Superstock and Touring Car weekend is another combined meeting at Lusail.

This is an important part of the calendar to keep visible. International events naturally receive most of the attention, but national championships are where much of the year-round racing activity actually happens.

Lusail is the centre of Qatar motorsport - but not the whole story

It is difficult to discuss motorsport in Qatar without repeatedly returning to Lusail International Circuit.

Formula 1, FIA WEC, Qatar Superstock and the Touring Car Championship all use the venue, and QMMF itself is based alongside the circuit.

Yet Qatar's calendar becomes more interesting when the events outside the circuit are included.

The Qatar International Baja and Qatar Off-Road Championship turn the country's desert terrain into the competition venue itself, giving Qatar two distinct motorsport environments:

Lusail: circuit racing, international championships, touring cars and motorcycles.

The desert: Baja, rally, navigation and endurance competition.

For someone planning a motorsport trip to Qatar, it is worth looking at both rather than focusing only on Formula 1.

Which Qatar motorsport events are worth watching?

The answer depends very much on what you want to see.

For the largest international spectacle, the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix is the obvious choice.

For sports-car fans, the Qatar 1812 Km offers Hypercar and GT endurance racing at the same circuit but with a completely different style of competition.

For something that feels much more connected to the landscape of Qatar itself, the Qatar International Baja is arguably the most distinctive event on the calendar.

And for a closer look at the country's own racing community, the Qatar Touring Car Championship and Qatar Superstock weekends are well worth following.

That variety is arguably the strongest thing about Qatar's motorsport calendar: within a matter of weeks, racing moves from motorcycles and touring cars to world championship endurance racing, the open desert and Formula 1.