Edgar Dören Has Passed Away
Edgar Dören was one of these seemingly indestructible veteran racers who always seems to have been around, and always turned up for the first race every year; it is hard to imagine he will not be there anymore.

Hardly a "star", he was nevertheless one of Germany's longest-serving and most respected racing drivers, held in high regard particularly by the knowledgeable race fans around the Nordschleife. A wave of the gloved hand served to acknowledge those who cheered him on during the race, and as a quick 'thank you' to slower competitors who gave him room to pass. Gestures like these sum up why he was so popular with spectators and fellow racers alike: his fairness on the track, his accessibility for ‘nosy punters’ in the paddock, and his dedication to motor racing.

In over three decades as a driver, he was never severely injured. It came as a huge shock - it always does, of course - when it first became known that he had fallen seriously ill. Now the tragic news is that Edgar Dören has succumbed to his illness. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family and friends in their time of grief.

The racing community has lost someone who in the heat of fierce competition never forgot that out in the spectator stands, in the other cars on the track, underneath umbrellas and behind balaclavas, in folding chairs and six point harnesses, all around him there were people, and he was one of them. He raced them hard, and often beat them; he spoke his mind, but he treated them all as human beings. For this, he had their respect and affection.

Such people cannot ever quite be replaced.
Johannes Gauglica