Diminutive wrestler Ishiura made a huge splash at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday, arriving at Ryogoku Kokugikan in a McLaren sports car.

The 173-cm meter Miyagino stable wrestler, who took the sumo world by storm with a 10-win campaign in November's Kyushu tournament, arrived for work on his 27th birthday in a high-performance model provided by his new sponsor, McLaren Automotive.

The 105-kg wrestler, however, has yet to gain top speed at the 15-day New Year event. On Tuesday, the ninth-ranked maegashira fell to his third loss in three days, lasting just a half second in his defeat to No. 8 Chiyonokuni.

"I'm concentrating, but I lack power," Ishiura said.