Hero Driver Loek Hartog Downplays Pulling Rival From Fireball Amid Questions Over Safety Response

Dutch racing driver Loek Hartog is being hailed as a hero after risking his own life to rescue fellow competitor Ollie Millroy from a burning Ferrari during a China GT race in Shanghai. Hartog, however, has played down the praise, insisting that he simply reacted instinctively when he saw the car engulfed in flames.

The dramatic incident happened on Saturday, 5 September, at the Shanghai International Circuit, roughly 20 minutes into the race. Millroy's Ferrari became involved in a multi-car collision and was quickly engulfed by fire, leaving the British driver trapped inside.

Loek Hartog Stopped When He Saw the Car Turn Into a Fireball

Hartog was driving several cars behind Millroy when he saw the Ferrari catch fire. Instead of continuing with the race, the 23-year-old Porsche driver immediately stopped his car and ran towards the wreck.

Video from Hartog's onboard camera showed him approaching the burning Ferrari and attempting to reach Millroy through the driver's side. When he was unable to free the trapped driver, Hartog took a fire extinguisher from an approaching marshal and used it to suppress some of the flames.

Hartog then managed to reach Millroy from the other side of the vehicle and pulled him from the Ferrari.

The rescue reportedly took less than a minute, with Motorsport.com reporting that Hartog freed Millroy in around 49 seconds.

Millroy Says He Owes His Life to Hartog

Millroy, 36, later praised his fellow driver from his hospital bed, saying he believed Hartog's intervention saved his life. In a message shared on social media, Millroy said Hartog had stopped with 'no flag marshals or fire crews in sight' and had risked his own life to get him out.

Millroy said he could not remember what happened between roughly 30 seconds before the crash and an hour afterwards. He added that he would remember Hartog's actions for the rest of his life and joked that his three children would one day regard the Dutch driver as a superhero.

Millroy suffered five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand and finger, as well as a bruised lung. Despite the severity of the crash, reports said his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Hartog Says He Wasn't Thinking About Being a Hero

Despite the overwhelming praise, Hartog has rejected the idea that he did anything extraordinary.

The young driver said that when he saw the car becoming 'a huge fireball', he did not really have a decision to make. He believed the driver might not be able to escape by himself, so he stopped and went towards the wreck.

In a comment to Millroy's Instagram post, Loek said: 'You have nothing to thank me for. I wish to live in a world where this would not have been considered as bravery but instinct.'

Hartog described the situation as terrifying, particularly because there were moments when he was unsure whether he would be able to get Millroy out. But rather than accepting the hero label, he insisted that other people in the same situation would have reacted in a similar way.

Questions Raised Over China GT Safety Response

The rescue has also triggered serious questions about safety procedures at the China GT event.

According to reports, there were no safety marshals immediately at the crash site when Millroy's Ferrari caught fire. Hartog took a fire extinguisher from an approaching marshal before continuing the rescue himself.

Millroy's team, FIST Team AAI, strongly criticised the emergency response and announced that it would no longer participate in China GT events until safety measures are improved.

The team said the car remained on fire for an extended period while Millroy was trapped inside and questioned whether the event's firefighting and medical systems were capable of responding quickly enough to serious accidents.

China GT organisers have acknowledged shortcomings in their emergency and safety protocols and said an investigation would be carried out. The race was ultimately stopped following the accident.

A Rival's Split-Second Decision Saved a Life

The incident has become a striking reminder of how quickly motorsport accidents can turn into life-or-death situations.

While racing drivers accept significant risks whenever they take to the track, the responsibility for emergency response normally falls on trained marshals, firefighters and medical crews. In Shanghai, however, Hartog found himself taking on that responsibility when his rival was trapped inside a burning car.

Hartog may insist that he simply did what anyone else would have done, but Millroy's gratitude tells a different story.

For the injured driver, the moment was not simply an act of sportsmanship between competitors. It was a rescue that may have made the difference between life and death.