Elfyn Evans will take a World Rally Championship (WRC) lead of just three points into the final round of the season after rival Sebastien Ogier won Rally Japan.
Welsh driver Evans, 36, finished 11.6 seconds behind his Toyota team-mate, collecting 25 points from the penultimate event, while eight-time world champion Ogier took the maximum 35.
The 41-year-old Frenchman dominated throughout, including topping the Super Sunday standings on a final day hit by torrential rain.
"I was going to say it's fun but that's a bit of a lie about today," said Evans who is bidding for his maiden world title.
"Overall it's been a fun weekend to try and fight with Seb."
A third Toyota driver, Kalle Rovanpera, now only has an outside chance of winning his third WRC title - trailing by 24 points after placing sixth in Japan.
The final event on the 14-race calendar is the newly established Rally Saudi Arabia from 25-29 November.