Racing driver Ollie Millroy has thanked competitor Loek Hartog for ‘saving my life’ for pulling him form the burning wreckage of his Ferrari in a GT3 race in Shanghai.
Hartog risked his own life to stop and use a fire extinguisher to beat back the flames to extract Briton Millroy from the accident which happened at Turn 14 – the hairpin – at the end of the back-straight of China’s F1 circuit.
Millroy suffered five broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, a broken hand and finger and a bruised lung in the accident, but later credited Hartog with saving his life.
The crash occurred around 20 minutes into the race as Neil Verhagen’s BMW battled David Chen’s No. 37 Harmony Racing Ferrari on the approach to Turn 14.
Verhagen moved onto the grass while attempting to pass and lost control of the BMW on the damp surface, making contact with Chen’s Ferrari.
Both machines then slid towards the hairpin, where Millroy’s AAI Motorsports Ferrari was struck from the side and caught fire, coming to rest on the outside of the track.
Hartog then stopped and after nearly a minute, was able to drag Millroy to safety, later taking to Instagram to say: “Thank you Loek. I owe you my life for your selfless act today,” whilst saying he regarded Hartog’s actions as “superhero” like, with Hartog responding by saying: “It was terrifying, and there were moments when I didn’t know if I’d ever manage to get Ollie out.”