Umar Dauda's "Boost Bomb" gets a new sponsor
Ugandan rally driver Umar Dauda (L), poses for a picture during the sponsorship announcement in Kampala.
Crown Beverages Limited has signed reigning Fort Portal Rally champion Umar Dauda as the face of Sting Energy Drink's expansion into Ugandan motorsport, the company announced Tuesday, tying the brand's "Funa Boost Ne Sting" campaign to one of the country's most closely watched rally careers.
Dauda, who competes in Uganda's National Rally Championship, broke through in 2022 with his first NRC win at the Fort Portal Rally, driving a Mitsubishi Evo VI alongside co-driver Hamza Lwanga. He returned the following year to defend the title, this time with Steven Bunya navigating in a Mitsubishi Evo IX, crossing the finish in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 41 seconds.
Since then, Dauda has moved up to a Mitsubishi Evo X, a car rally fans in Uganda have nicknamed the "Boost Bomb", and has used it to run competitively at the Bugerere and Kabalega Hoima rallies.
For Crown Beverages, the deal extends a strategy the company has leaned on internationally, where Sting has built ties to Formula 1, into a discipline with deeper roots in Uganda.
"Rally is not for the faint-hearted," said Joseph Byaruhanga, Sting's brand manager at Crown Beverages. "It demands focus, resilience, precision and the energy to keep pushing. These are the same qualities we see in Sting and Umar Dauda."
The partnership will center on rally-day activations, fan engagement events and content built around Dauda's races, as Sting looks to plant its flag with motorsport audiences ahead of the NRC's upcoming rounds.
