British racing driver Ollie Millroy has described his survival as a miracle after he was rescued from a burning wreckage by fellow competitor Loek Hartog. The 36-year-old Millroy was competing in the China GT Championship at the Shanghai International Circuit 11 days ago when his Ferrari was struck by two other cars, causing it to catch fire immediately and slam into safety barriers.
Stuck inside his car for over a minute while barely conscious, Millroy was eventually pulled free by Dutch driver Hartog, who had abandoned his own race to assist. Speaking from his hospital bed in China, Millroy expressed deep gratitude for his rival’s intervention. He recalled that Hartog acted with remarkable precision, noting that watching the footage feels like witnessing a perfectly rehearsed movie scene rather than a life-or-death crisis.
According to Millroy, Hartog checked on him, realized the severity of the fire, and then moved to the passenger side to facilitate an escape. By using an extinguisher to keep the flames at bay, Hartog was able to get inside the vehicle and extract the injured driver. Millroy emphasized that without Hartog’s decisive actions, the outcome would likely have been fatal, adding that he feels he owes his life to the 23-year-old racer.
Millroy suffered a punctured lung and several fractures in the collision. He reports having no memory of the moments immediately preceding the crash or the hour following it, which has left him struggling to process the event psychologically. During the incident, he had removed his helmet due to a lack of oxygen, but his injuries had left him unable to exit the car under his own power.
The two drivers are scheduled for a reunion this week as Hartog returns to China. Hartog, who acknowledged feeling scared during the rescue, stated that he acted on instinct and his professional training. He noted that it took 59 seconds from the moment he stopped his car until Millroy was pulled from the burning vehicle, a duration he wishes could have been shorter.
Millroy’s wife, Fern, expressed the deep emotional impact of the rescue, stating that she feels a profound sense of love and gratitude toward someone who saved her soulmate and father of their three children. She intends to offer Hartog a personal message of thanks when they meet.
While both drivers are looking toward the future, they also intend to focus on improving motorsport safety protocols. Hartog remarked that the incident highlighted multiple failures and that he hopes to use this experience to prevent similar outcomes, noting he should not have been the only one available to help. Millroy noted that he is currently waiting for official investigations to conclude before commenting further on the safety systems involved.
Despite the trauma, Millroy plans to return to racing eventually, though he is currently focused on recovering and reuniting with his family. He remains in contact with Hartog’s family, describing them as wonderful people who raised a sportsman capable of prioritizing human life over competitive success. For now, the pair are focused on closure and the recovery process, with Millroy acknowledging he has expressed his gratitude a thousand times and would gladly do so a thousand more. The report also notes that it looks like you’re watching a movie and everything’s rehearsed, watching the video back. The report also notes that and went round to the passenger side and realised he wasn’t going to get me out of there; got an extinguisher, kept the fire off me for long enough to get inside the car and get me out of it, he ran around to check on me and realised the fire was too bad. The report also notes that every single step was perfectly executed. The report also notes that the fact I’ve got out without life-changing burns or even the fact I’m alive – it’s a miracle, if you look at the photos and videos of the car. The report also notes that it’s created this really strong bond between us. The report also notes that the first time anyone talked me through it was Loek in the hospital and the two of us were just in floods of tears when he was telling me what happened and what [he] did and how different the result could have been for me, i didn’t have any memory of the crash. The report also notes that it’s a strange feeling – I’m still not coming to terms with it because I don’t remember any of it.
