re Thomas Hinterreiter - Spricht jemand hier Deutsch?

[Man-of-Mystery]

I may be wrong, but etymologically, I think a possible translation of "Hinterreiter" is "pillion passenger".

Anyone speak German?

M-o-M

[Stevie]

Not really M-o-M. Current idiom for pillion is "Sozius", although I suppose a literal translation of "hinter" = behind and "reiter" = rider could be applied in the way you suggest.

You really need to be careful with literal translations of names, I have a swiss-german mate called Schweingrueber, and as far as I know, he has a perfectly normal relationship with pigs.

[Man-of-Mystery]

Aye I ken fine, Stevie. That's why I said a "possible" translation. I thought it was rather ironic that a one-up racer, particularly one of his calibre, should have a name which means "He who rides behind".

M-o-M

[RoLoo]

...imagine his name would be Hinternreiter...
...with an 'n' ; now THAT would make a huge difference...

[Man-of-Mystery]

Yes, the etymological possibilites are... *ahem*... end-less.

M-o-M