Sports08 September, 20262 min read
Ollie Millroy Credits Loek Hartog With Pulling Him From Burning Ferrari in Shanghai
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Ollie Millroy crashed in the first China GT race in Shanghai, his Ferrari catching fire. Loek Hartog pulled Millroy from the burning car, risking his own life.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Ferrari fire rescue
British racing driver Ollie Millroy said he is alive “entirely thanks to” Dutch rival Loek Hartog after Hartog pulled him from a burning Ferrari during a China GT race in Shanghai. Sky News said Millroy, 36, suffered five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand and finger, and a bruised lung after a multi-car crash on the seventh lap of a ChinaGT Championship race on Saturday.
The Times of India said Millroy was recovering in a Shanghai hospital after his Ferrari was engulfed in flames during the China GT race at the Shanghai International Circuit on Saturday. The Times of India reported that Hartog, 23, stopped his own Porsche, ran to the burning Ferrari, and pulled Millroy out, and that Millroy’s wife Fern said she “can’t believe he’s alive.”
Quotes and dispute
Millroy wrote on Instagram that he owes his life to Hartog, saying 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 Guardian said the incident happened 20 minutes into the Shanghai race when Millroy’s Ferrari was struck heavily from the side after a collision between two other cars causing it to burst into flames.
The Guardian reported that the race was red-flagged and that, after Hartog hauled off part of a door, he grabbed a fire extinguisher from a nearby official, doused the flames as best he could, and then pulled Millroy from the opposite side of the wreck. The Guardian also quoted Millroy’s team, FIST Auto, saying they will not participate in future China GT races until discussing safety concerns with organisers, and it quoted the team’s statement that “our driver was rescued from the burning car by Loek Hartog, regardless of his own safety.”
Investigation and next steps
Sky News said the incident will be investigated to see whether it highlighted shortcomings in competition management, emergency response, rescue operations and medical support, with organisers addressing the aftermath after the crash. The Guardian reported that Millroy’s team, FIST Auto, said they will not participate in future China GT races until discussing safety concerns with organisers, after the race did not resume.
The Guardian quoted organisers admitting “shortcomings” and saying they would “further review and investigate the accident and formulate more comprehensive plans” to address shortcomings in competition organisation, support, emergency response, rescue and medical services. GPblog described Hartog as a 23-year-old who stopped his car in the corner where the Ferrari was burning, used a fire extinguisher after someone handed it to him, and pulled Millroy from his seat as the Ferrari immediately caught fire.