Police investigate theft of €100,000 watch from tycoon killed in Mallorca rally crash

The Guardia Civil in Mallorca has launched an investigation into the apparent theft of a luxury watch worth more than 100,000 euros from the wrist of German entrepreneur Klaus Rader, who died in a fatal rally crash on the island last month.

The 63-year-old co-founder of the international restaurant chains L’Osteria and Vapiano was killed on 9 October when his Porsche 911 GT3 RS plunged down a ravine on the MA-10 mountain road in Mortitx during the 550 Rally Challenge Mallorca. His 39-year-old Austrian co-driver, Christina Ettel, survived the crash but suffered severe spinal injuries.

Rader’s family alerted police after discovering that his collector’s-item Patek Philippe timepiece was missing. Witnesses confirmed seeing the businessman wearing the watch shortly before the start of the second race stage, and family members told officers he wore it constantly.

Investigators suspect someone took advantage of the chaos immediately following the accident to remove the watch from Rader’s wrist, or that it was stolen during the subsequent emergency response. Reports indicate the watch was missing by the time the first rescuers reached the vehicle.

Following the accident, race organisers immediately cancelled the remainder of the sixth edition of the rally as a mark of respect.

Rader co-founded L’Osteria in Nuremberg in 1999 alongside Friedemann Findeis, expanding it into a chain with over 200 locations across Europe, alongside establishing Vapiano, which operates in more than 32 countries.