Rich Energy has again taken on a sponsorship in motorsport, but this ended prematurely. The energy drink maker has taken British superbike team OMG under its wing but has now ended the partnership. The scheme is almost the same as that which Günther Steiner and Haas experienced with the company in Formula 1.
Rich Energy was unveiled as Haas’ main sponsor ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 season, but the collaboration ended earlier this year. Company boss William Storey blamed the team’s poor results for the breakup.
Confusion ensued after Rich Energy itself claimed the tweet announcing the termination of the agreement was written by a “sneaky person,” but the company eventually parted ways with Haas. In 2020, Rich Energy returned to racing to sponsor OMG in the British Superbike Championship.
Multi-million euro deal
It was explained that the cooperation would be a multi-million euro deal. But then there was déjà vu: Rich Energy announced the end of the cooperation on Twitter. Storey later quipped to Superbike.com that the OMG team had “acted with bad intentions on several occasions”.
Steiner overheard the story about the ex-Haas sponsor. “I read it because I saw it,” said the Haas team boss during the Formula 1 race in France. “It was like it was going to happen again, that’s my only comment. I don’t know how much money they got, but at least we got some in the end. It’s obvious what happened there, so I’m not surprised. “
Steiner does not want to give the OMG team any advice, however, as he has no tip for the racing team. Haas has contested the remainder of the 2019 season without a title sponsor following the break with Rich Energy. In 2020, Russian company Uralkali joined Haas for the 2021 season due to the signing of Nikita Mazepin.
Will there be a mud fight?
Both Uralkali and Mazepin were kicked out by the team as Russia launched a war of aggression against Ukraine. The Mazepins are among the sanctioned families from Russia. After another sponsor has left, Haas wants to take his time before presenting a new title sponsor. The team is currently driving with the Haas branding in Formula 1.
OMG has previously commented on Rich Energy’s allegations, stating that the team was never supported by the company directly, but rather by RichOMG Limited. This is the rights holder for the sale and distribution of the energy drink.
“Following discussions with RichOMG Limited earlier this week, the OMG team has been assured that all other existing sponsorship deals assumed by RichOMG Limited also remain in place and will be paid for,” the team said in a statement.
This was followed by a statement on Rich Energy’s Twitter account, saying the contract had been terminated and that it was “a matter of the British Superbike Championship how they present the team this weekend”. Storey drove a Renault Formula 1 car ahead of the French Grand Prix and claimed on Twitter that he was “faster than most professional drivers”.