Loek Hartog becomes a lifesaver in a horrific fire accident

Ollie Millroy escaped without life-threatening injuries following a serious crash during the first China GT race in Shanghai on Saturday. Loek Hartog had rescued Millroy from his burning Ferrari 296 GT3.

Millroy’s Ferrari, entered by FIST Team AAI, was struck by a Ferrari from Harmony Racing that had lost control, with David Chen at the wheel, after Chen and Neil Verhagen’s BMW M4 GT3 (TBC by 610 Racing) had collided on the grass.

The Ferrari, fielded by a Taiwanese team, burst into flames on impact. Hartog, who competes for Rutronik Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe, amongst others, was driving the Phantom Global Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R behind the accident; he had stopped on the track, got out of his car and initially attempted to free Millroy from the vehicle by prying open the passenger door.

Hartog was then seen using a fire extinguisher to put out the fire enough to allow him to climb into the cockpit and bring Millroy to safety.

In a social media post, Millroy wrote that he owed it to Hartog that he was “still alive this evening”. The 36-year-old Briton announced that he had sustained five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand and a broken finger, as well as a bruised lung, in the accident.

Topic of the week

2027 MotoGP grid: Almost a quarter of the riders are new – implications for SBK

The 2027 MotoGP grid will feature five new regular riders, with at least three of those dropped set to move to the World Superbike Championship. The ones to suffer as a result are Alvaro Bautista and Danilo Petrucci.

Ivo Schützbach

Read more

“I’m still alive this evening, and I owe that to one man and one man alone,” wrote Millroy. “Loek Hartog stopped immediately, even though there were no marshals or firefighters in sight, and risked his own life to free me from the car. I can’t remember anything between 30 seconds before the crash and an hour afterwards, but I’ll remember his incredible bravery for the rest of my life. One day I’ll tell this story to our three children, and in their eyes too, Loek will be the greatest superhero of all time. Thank you, Loek. I owe you my life for your selfless act today. Thank you all for your lovely messages … I’m counting my blessings tonight, that’s for sure. Fern (my wife) is currently on a plane on her way here, and I’m surrounded by my team, my Taiwanese family and the AAI team. I’ve got a couple of operations coming up tomorrow to put everything back in place, then I’ll be resting here for a few weeks before I can fly again. “Thanks to Ferrari for building a car that could withstand this impact, and I’m sorry for our AAI Motorsports crew and my team-mate Betty Chen that you’ve lost your rocket today.”

Hartog also explained in a social media post that there had been ‘not a moment’s hesitation’ in helping another driver after he’d seen a ‘huge fireball’ ahead of him.

“Looking back on it, I’m most grateful for the people who have surrounded me throughout my life and my entire career, and who have taught me to recognise when something is more important than racing, and to live in the here and now,” he said. “That’s what it looks like when you live in the here and now. It was frightening. There were moments when I didn’t know if I’d actually be able to get Ollie out. But this isn’t about what I did, and I’m sure many people in the same situation would have reacted exactly the same way. I’m just grateful that I happened to be in that place at that moment.”

Team AAI withdraws from China GT following accident

In a social media post of her own, team owner Betty Chen questioned the emergency services’ response following the accident and explained that she and the team had withdrawn from the China GT Championship as a result of the incident.

“We are fully aware that motor racing involves risks,” she wrote. “However, we cannot accept the measures taken by the organisers following today’s incident – in particular, the lack of an immediate and appropriate emergency response. The safety of the drivers and team members must always come first. What happened today and the way the situation was handled is truly unacceptable. In light of the way today’s incident was handled by the organisers, the team and I have taken the decision to withdraw from the championship and will no longer take part in any future China GT events. Many thanks to everyone who came to our aid today, and I wish Ollie a speedy recovery.”