A lifelong motorsport fan who taught himself to code during lockdown has created a platform that is transforming how fans follow racing and helping drivers without big budgets push their careers forward.
Dave Ellis launched The Racing Line two years ago after becoming increasingly frustrated with how difficult it was to keep track of motorsport during the pandemic.
Unlike major sports, racing has no central hub for watching events, with schedules and livestreams scattered across various websites and often shown in the wrong time zone.
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Dave, 41, who lives in Musselburgh, Scotland, decided to learn software development from the ground up and build the solution himself.
He told Hype Daily that motorsport has always been a complicated sport to follow, especially compared to football or rugby.
He said fans are forced to search multiple sites to find schedules and streams, making the experience confusing and time consuming.
His goal was to make the process simple and accessible.
Before launching The Racing Line, Dave worked as a Major Emergency Management instructor for an oil and gas training company and later became Head of IT at a software studio.
When COVID hit, he suddenly had unexpected free time. Normally he would spend that time watching motorsport, but with events disrupted and information scattered, he found it harder than ever to stay updated.
Since no existing app solved the problem, he chose to build his own.
His first attempt was completed during lockdown, although he admits it was barely a functional version. The second version, released two years ago, is the one that has caught widespread attention.
The Racing Line now covers more than 200 racing series, providing timetables, stream links and automatic time zone conversions, as well as personalised notifications. It is the first platform of its kind in motorsport.
But the project has grown far beyond helping fans. Dave now supports drivers, teams and racing series operating on small budgets by promoting them to a wider audience, helping them build fan bases and secure funding.
He admits that marketing has been far more challenging than he expected. He said creating the product came naturally, but getting it in front of people was the real learning curve.
His first users found the platform through Instagram ads, while his early racing clients came from attending events and talking directly to drivers. Two major obstacles stood in his way: teaching himself software development and breaking into motorsport’s close community, where everyone knows each other and newcomers can struggle to make an impact.
In 2024, everything began to change. Growth accelerated to more than 300 percent, and for the first time, drivers, advertisers and racing series began approaching him instead of the other way around.
Reaching over 1,000 members without funding or a dedicated marketing budget became one of his proudest achievements.
Positive reviews and messages from fans have encouraged him to keep going. He said many fans have been waiting for a tool like this, and seeing them appreciate it means a lot.
For Dave, the biggest reward is getting to work in the sport he has loved his entire life.
He said his biggest mistake was assuming that marketing would be easy, and that building a good product would be enough. He now understands why marketing professionals are highly valued.
His long term ambition is to grow The Racing Line to 100,000 members. More importantly, he wants it to become the go to platform for anyone trying to watch motorsport.
He said his dream is for fans to simply say: I just use The Racing Line for that.
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