Once again Rich Energy took on sponsorship in motorsport, only for it to end prematurely. The energy drink manufacturer signed on with the British Superbike team OMG, but has now ended the partnership. The scenario is almost identical to the one that Günther Steiner and Haas experienced with the brand in Formula 1. The team boss blasts the energy drink maker in the press saying “It’s obvious what happened there, it’s no surprise”.

Rich Energy were Haas’ main sponsor ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 season, but the collaboration was terminated later that year under suspicious circumstances. The company’s chief executive, William Storey, blamed the break on the racing team’s poor results, something the team strongly denied.

Confusion followed after Rich Energy itself claimed that the tweet announcing the termination of the deal was written by a “devious person”, however, the company still eventually parted ways with Haas. Rich Energy returned to racing in 2020 to sponsor OMG in the British Superbike Championship in a multi-million euro deal.

William Storey

Despite the claims of this deal, history appears to have repeated itself as Rich Energy announced the end of the cooperation on Twitter. Storey later told Superbike.com that the OMG team had “acted with bad intentions several times”.

Steiner, he said, had overheard the story surrounding the ex-Haas sponsor in passing. “I read the story because I had seen it before” the Haas team boss said during the Formula One race in France.

“It was like it was happening again, that’s my only comment. I don’t know how much money they got, but at least we got something in the end,

“It’s obvious what happened there, which is why I’m not surprised!” blasts the Haas boss.

OMG has already responded to Rich Energy’s allegations, stating that the team was never supported by the company directly, but 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 was assured that all other existing sponsorship deals taken on by RichOMG Limited will also continue and be paid for,” read a statement from the team.

This was followed by a statement on Rich Energy’s Twitter account saying the contract had been terminated and it was “a matter for the British Superbike Championship as to how they present the team this weekend”. Storey drove a Renault Formula 1 car before the French Grand Prix and claimed on Twitter that he was “faster than most professional drivers”.

Rich Energy still has some involvement in motorsport, albeit in the UK domestic racing scene; the company is the primary sponsor of a British Touring car team fielding three cars including the veteran driver Jason Plato.