Karl-Günther Bechem

Karl-Günther Bechem (21 December 1921 - 3 May 2011): German racing driver whose family were successful steel manufacturers who disapproved of him racing, which led him to enter events as 'Bernhard Nacke' in order to conceal the fact from the family. Bechem started racing sportscars before contesting two Grands Prix in 1952 and 1953. In only his second race with his BMW 328 he came home fourth at Nürburgring. Bechem competed in Formula Two in the 1952 German Grand Prix, driving a BMW under the alias 'Bernhard Nacke.

' He failed to finish the race and so did not score any World Championship points. He continued driving an ex-Karl Gommann AFM-BMW in Formula Two in 1953 at AVUS and then in the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring, again failing to finish. He was more successful in sports car racing with the Borgward team, taking second place finishes at Nürburgring and Schauinsland hill climb, both times behind Hans Herrmann's Porsche 550 Spyder. In 1954 Bechem crashed heavily while competing in the Carrera Panamericana and, although he recovered fully from his injuries, he never raced again at this high level.

Though he went on to compete in hill climbs as late as 1965, he did not start another international race.