Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier led all but one stage of the rally but was kept honest by his teammate Solberg, who went into the final day of the event with a 3.8s deficit.
Any hopes Solberg had of reeling Ogier in were ultimately dashed on the second-to-last stage when he misjudged a right-hander over a crest and clouted a barrier.
Solberg entered the stage just 2.2s away from the rally lead.
“It was a very big disappointment what happened today,” said Solberg.
“It had been a fantastic fight all weekend with Seb (Ogier) and Elfyn (Evans), and I had a great feeling in the car and just tried to drive with my normal rhythm.
“Unfortunately I just made a small mistake in this right-hander over a jump.
“On the first pass we had been much slower in the rain, and now in the dry I was just too optimistic, jumped a bit too far and into the rail on the left-hand side.
“I’m just sorry for the team. It’s been a big learning curve so far this year, but we will try to take the positives again and look forward to the next rally.”
That handed second place to Elfyn Evans, who finished 19.9s adrift of Ogier. Sami Pajari, meanwhile, inherited third. Toyota occupied first through fourth with Takamoto Katsuta fourth.
“First of all, this has been a very enjoyable rally,” said Ogier.
“The team has given us an amazing car to drive once again and it was a lot of fun behind the wheel.
“It was really close all weekend with my team-mates and especially with Oliver, so I feel sorry for him and for Elliott (Edmondson) because they were delivering another strong performance.
“On our side, we can be happy and proud about the job we’ve done this weekend and I’m happy to add a new rally to the palmarès.
“It’s been a fantastic performance by the team, so hats off once more to everybody for their efforts.”
It was a forgetful rally for Hyundai. Adrien Fourmaux was fifth, nearly three-and-a-half minutes away from Ogier.
“To be the highest-placed Hyundai and to put some points on the board is a positive,” said Fourmaux.
“For sure this was not the weekend we were hoping for in terms of performance, but I am pleased with my approach to this rally.
“I could have started a little bit better on Friday morning but after that, it was very positive, especially against my team-mates.”
The FIA World Rally Championship continues with Rally Portugal on May 7-10.
Results: FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Islas Canarias Rally of Spain
| Pos | Num | Driver | Co-Driver | Car | Time | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | #1 | Sebastian Ogier | Vincent Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 2:43 | ||
| 2 | #33 | Elfyn Evans | Scott Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 2:43:39 | 39.8 | |
| 3 | #5 | Sami Pajari | Marko Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 2:45 | 1:40.8 | 1:20.9 |
| 4 | #18 | Takamoto Katsuta | Aaron Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 2:45 | 1:51.2 | 10.4 |
| 5 | #16 | Adrien Fourmaux | Alexandre Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 2:46 | 3:29.5 | 1:38.3 |
| 6 | #11 | Thierry Neuville | Martin Mydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 2:47:00 | 3:41 | 11.5 |
| 7 | #6 | Dani Sordo | Carrera Candido | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 2:47:17 | 3:57.7 | 16.7 |
| 8 | #55 | Joshua McElearn | Eoin Treacy | Ford Puma Rally1 | 2:49:04 | 5:45.4 | 1:47.7 |
| 9 | #29 | Yohan Rossel | Dunand Arnaud | Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 | 2:50 | 7:24.3 | 1:38.9 |
| 10 | #31 | Alejandro Cachon | Borja Rozada | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | 2:51 | 7:49.4 | 25.1 |
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