Ollie Millroy says he owes his life to fellow driver Loek Hartog after the Dutch racer pulled him from a burning Ferrari at the China GT in Shanghai.
Millroy, a British GT3 driver, and Hartog were both competing in the season-opening race last Saturday when the crash occurred roughly twenty minutes after the green flag. A collision between two other cars sent one vehicle into the side of Millroy’s Ferrari, which immediately erupted in flames. The race was red-flagged as the British driver sat trapped inside the burning car.
Hartog stopped his own vehicle and sprinted toward the inferno with no marshals or fire crews yet visible. He first attacked the blaze with a fire extinguisher, then dragged Millroy from the cockpit before the flames could consume him. The rescue unfolded entirely through the Dutch driver’s initiative, with professional emergency response still absent from the scene.
“I am still alive tonight, entirely thanks to one man,” Millroy wrote in an Instagram post after the incident. “Loek Hartog stopped instantly with no flag marshals or fire crews in sight, and risked his own life to get me out of the car.”
The British driver has no memory of the crash itself or the hour that followed. “I don’t remember anything between 30 seconds before the crash and one hour after it,” he shared on Instagram, “but I will remember his incredible act of bravery for the rest of my life.” Millroy also looked toward his children’s future understanding of the event, adding, “One day I will tell our three kids this story and Loek will be the biggest superhero in history in their eyes too.”
Millroy sustained five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand and finger, and a bruised lung. He acknowledged the injuries could have been far more severe, writing, “Thank you Loek. I owe you my life for your selfless act today.” He thanked supporters for their messages and vowed to “rebuild, recover” and then “get back on the horse.”
Hartog responded directly to Millroy’s post with characteristic modesty. “You have nothing to thank me for,” he wrote. “I wish to live in a world where this would not be considered as bravery but as instinct of others too.” The Dutch driver expressed gratitude for his positioning at that critical moment, adding, “I am so thankful to have been right at the place I needed to be in space and time. Speedy recovery and we will stay in close touch.”
On his own Instagram page, Hartog elaborated on the split-second nature of his intervention. “When I saw a car turning into a huge fireball far ahead, there wasn’t really a decision to make,” he wrote. “From what I had seen, I genuinely believed the driver might not be able to get out by himself. I stopped, got out and went towards the car. There was never a moment of doubt.”
The rescue was not without terror for Hartog himself. “It was scary,” he admitted. “There were moments where I didn’t know I would actually be able to get Ollie out.” Yet he consistently deflected personal credit, insisting, “this isn’t about what I did, and I’m sure many people in the same position would have reacted exactly the same way.”
Millroy’s team, AAI Motorsport, reacted with fury at the organizational failures exposed by the incident. The squad announced it “will no longer participate in any races organised by China GT,” citing the approximately sixty seconds Millroy’s car burned without professional intervention. The team posed a stark question in its statement: “What might have happened if that driver hadn’t stepped up today?”
China GT issued its own statement promising accountability. “We will further review and investigate the accident and formulate more comprehensive plans to address shortcomings in competition organisation, support, emergency response, rescue and medical services,” the series said.