Mikko Hirvonen broke into the Castrol EDGE Rankings top 10 and gained ground on title rival Sebastien Loeb, despite finishing behind the Frenchman in the Rally of Spain.
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The duo entered the penultimate round of the season level on points, with Hirvonen having gained 36 points on Loeb in the previous two rallies alone.
Loeb won in Spain however, and while Hirvonen finished second to limit the damage he now trails the seven-time champion by eight points heading into the decisive final Rally of Great Britain in November.
In the Castrol EDGE Rankings a different picture developed however as Hirvonen closed on Loeb, as for the first time this season both drivers took top 10 spots.
For Hirvonen, finishing second was accompanied by dropping his fifth-place finish in the 2010 Rally of Spain, allowing him to jump two spots and into tenth, his best ranking of the season.
Loeb however dominated last year?s rally, leading from SS1 through to the end of the rally.
That bumper points haul meant that despite victory he lost ground following this year?s event, although he did enough to prevent himself falling further down the Rankings order. So imperious has he been in the past that sixth represents his worst ever spot in the Rankings.
As Hirvonen and Loeb head into a final-weekend showdown, Loeb?s team-mate Sebastien Ogier suffered mechanical heartbreak in Spain which ended his own title bid.
Ogier had closed to within three points of the lead battle and was running well in Spain, but ended up retiring from the rally. He remains third in the WRC Rankings, and 14th overall.
Hirvonen?s team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala moved aside and allowed Hirvonen to take second at the close, but took third and secured a rise of one place in the Rankings, moving to 18th.
Behind the leaders, Mads Ostberg finished sixth to move into his highest ever Rankings position of 81st.
His gains were smashed by those of Mini?s Kris Meeke however, who finished fifth on the road.
Meeke, with no rounds to drop following a bit-part season, vaulted 403 places in the Rankings to move to 813rd. That is still a considerable distance short of his all-time high of 70th however, achieved during his run to third in the 2010 IRC championship.
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The Castrol EDGE Rankings is based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the Castrol Rankings scores are calculated, click here.
