Founded in 2002, Sumo Power built its initial reputation as a specialist tuner of Japanese performance machinery, with the Nissan Skyline GT-R and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution as its core platforms. The company served as an official British distributor for HKS Europe Ltd, one of the most recognised names in Japanese aftermarket performance parts. Early motorsport involvement centred on drag racing and drifting events, disciplines that complemented the street-car tuning work that formed the business's foundation.
In 2009 Sumo Power merged with JR Motorsports Group (JRM), an established professional motorsport organisation that already held the role of official team for Mitsubishi Motors UK in the British Rally Championship. The merged entity consolidated Sumo Power's Japanese car knowledge with JRM's professional racing infrastructure. As a consequence of the merger and the existing JRM–Mitsubishi relationship, the combined operation became the official British importer of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
The most prominent chapter of Sumo Power's motorsport history was its participation in the FIA GT1 World Championship, representing Nissan in partnership with Nismo, the Japanese manufacturer's factory motorsport arm. In 2010 the team entered the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship under the Sumo Power GT banner with two Nissan GT-R R35 GT1 machines. The driver line-up included British drivers Jamie Campbell-Walter, Peter Dumbreck, and Warren Hughes alongside Nismo factory driver Michael Krumm.
For 2011 the Nissan programme expanded to four cars, with JR Motorsports managing two entries alongside the Sumo Power-branded pair. Additional drivers, including Lucas Luhr and Nicky Catsburg, joined the expanded effort. That season the JRM-entered Nissan of Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr secured the Drivers' Championship — giving Nissan and the JRM/Sumo Power programme the series' top individual honour — though the Teams' Championship was not won.
In 2012 the programme changed direction as the team moved into the FIA World Endurance Championship at the LMP1 level, running under the JRM name with an HPD ARX-03a prototype powered by Honda. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the car was shared by David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, and Peter Dumbreck, who completed 357 laps to finish sixth overall and sixth in the LMP1 class — a creditable result for a privateer entry in a category dominated by factory machinery.
Sumo Power passed into new ownership in April 2014 and relocated to Littleport. The change of ownership marked a departure from the peak years of the company's involvement at FIA GT1 and WEC level.
Sumo Power's trajectory — from Japanese car tuning specialist to FIA GT1 championship contender to Le Mans LMP1 competitor — traces an unusually ambitious path for a company that began outside the professional motorsport mainstream. The Nismo partnership gave the team factory-level resources in the GT1 era, while the 2012 WEC LMP1 campaign placed the Sumo Power name at La Sarthe alongside the world's top prototype operations. The FIA GT1 Drivers' Championship secured by Krumm and Luhr in 2011 remains the operation's highest competitive achievement.