Restaurant chain: L’Osteria founder Rader dies in a car rally in Mallorca

Klaus Rader, co-founder of the well-known German restaurant chain L'Osteria, died in a car race in Mallorca. Upon request, the company confirmed the “sudden accidental death” to the German Press Agency.

According to the police, the accident occurred during the “Challenge Mallorca 550” race. His 39-year-old German passenger suffered a spinal injury in the accident and was taken to hospital, Spanish police confirmed. According to “Bild”, the injured passenger is the Austrian professional racing driver Christina Ettel. Why the car left the road is the subject of the police investigation.

The organizer canceled the remaining races of the rally and expressed his condolences to the relatives. “The decision was difficult for us, but it is unavoidable and irrevocable,” says a statement from the organizers.

The 63-year-old entrepreneur took part as a test driver. He was supposed to drive around the race track in advance for the field of drivers. Rader, an experienced racing driver, came off the road during the mountain stage between Lluc, where the famous monastery is located, and Pollença. The white Porsche tumbled down a slope.

The “Challenge Mallorca 550” is an event for car enthusiasts who compete in two categories. In one competition you have to maintain a predetermined average speed over the entire route, in the other it's about pure top speed.

Rader leaves behind his wife and children. In 1999, together with Friedemann Findeis, he founded the restaurant chain L'Osteria, which also has a branch on Mallorca. An investment company has been the majority owner since 2023. According to the legal notice, Rader was still on the supervisory board.