Exclusive: Former Formula 1 figure invests £100k into new Pacer app dubbed ‘Sports Tinder’

A former Formula 1 test driver has invested into a new app, dubbed Sports Tinder, ahead of its London launch.

Pacer will launch this year and target Londoners who run, play tennis and padel and socialise through sport.

“Unlike conventional dating apps,” they told City AM, “users do not initially sign up looking for romance. Instead, they find people who share their passion for sport – with the potential for friendship, community or something more.”

Former Williams Formula 1 test driver and Le Mans winner Alex Lynn has invested £100,000 into the project, which was founded by former Ardian associate Dylan Morris-Jones.

Lynn said: “Sport has always been one of the best ways to meet people. You spend time together, you push each other and you naturally build a connection.

“When you’re living in a city like London, there are so many people around you, but it can still be surprisingly difficult to meet people you genuinely have something in common with.

“Pacer makes that first step much easier. You might join because you want someone to train with, but if you meet someone you really click with, who knows where that can lead?”

Pacer launch follows trend

The app follows a jump in interest for social sport in London, with the capital’s players often teaming up with each other – often without meeting – to share padel court time.

Morris-Jones added: “London is an incredible city, but it can also be incredibly lonely. You can have thousands of people around you every day and still struggle to make genuine connections.

“Sport changes that because you immediately have something in common. The primary purpose of the app is to find your sporting community. But if two people meet through sport and it develops into friendship, or something romantic, then that’s a natural consequence of putting compatible people together.”