Millroy Credits Hartog for ‘Saving Life’ in Massive China GT Crash

Image: China GT

Ollie Millroy has miraculously escaped life-threatening injuries following a massive accident in Saturday’s opening China GT race of the weekend in Shanghai that saw Loek Hartog pull Millroy out of his engulfed Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

Millroy’s FIST Team AAI Ferrari was hit by an out-of-control Harmony Racing Ferrari of David Chen, after Chen and the TBC by 610 Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Neil Verhagen had contact in the grass.

The Taiwanese-entered Ferrari burst into flames upon impact, with former Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver Hartog, in a Phantom Global Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, having stopped on track, climbed from his car and pulled Millroy from the blaze.

Hartog then was seen using a fire extinguisher to help put out the fire.

The race was abandoned after the accident.

In a social media post, Millroy credited Hartog for ‘still being alive tonight’ with the 36-year-old Briton revealing that he sustained five broken ribs, a broken collarbone, broken hand and finger and a bruised lung in the accident.

“I am still alive tonight, entirely thanks to one man,” wrote Millroy. “Loek Hartog stopped instantly with no flag marshals or fire crews in sight and risked his own life to get me out of the car.

“I don’t remember anything between 30 seconds before the crash and one hour after it, but I will remember his incredible act of bravery for the rest of my life.

“One day I will tell our three kids this story and Loek will be the biggest superhero in history in their eyes too.

“Thank you Loek. I owe you my life for your selfless act today.

“Thank you to everyone for your kind messages… I’m counting my lucky starts tonight, that’s for sure. Fern (wife) is on the plane out here and I’m surrounded by my team, my Taiwanese family Team AAI.

“I have a couple of operations tomorrow to put everything back where it should be, then a few weeks resting here before I can fly.

“Thank you to Ferrari for building a car capable of taking that impact and I’m sorry for our AAI Motorsports crew and my teammate Betty Chen that you have lost your rocket ship today.”

Hartog, also in a social media post, said there was “never a moment of doubt” to help another driver after he saw a “huge fireball” ahead of him.

“Reflecting on it afterwards, I’m mostly grateful for the people I’ve had around me throughout my life and career who have taught me to recognize when something is bigger than racing and to live in the present,” he said.

“This is what living in the present is like.

“It was scary. There were moments where I didn’t know I would actually be able to get Ollie out. But this isn’t about what what I did, and I’m sure many people in the same position would have reacted exactly the same way.

“I’m just thankful that I happened to be in that place at that moment.”

Chen: AAI to Withdraw from China GT After Lack of Safety Response

In her own social media post, Betty Chen questioned the response of safety crews from the accident and indicated that she and the team have pulled out of China GT competition as a result of the incident.

“We fully understand that motorsport carries risks,” she wrote.

“However, the measures taken by the organizers following today’s incident, particularly the lack of an immediate and adequate emergency response, are something we cannot accept.

“The safety of drivers and team members must always come before anything else.

“What happened today and the way the situation was handled is truly unacceptable.

“Given the way today’s incident was handled by the organizers, the team and I have made the decision to withdraw from the championship and will not participate in any future China GT events.

“Thank you to everyone who stepped forward to help today, and I wish Ollie a speedy recovery.”

Photo: Ollie Millroy Instagram



Source: Sports Car 365