British racing driver Ollie Millroy is recovering in a Shanghai hospital after a terrifying multi-car crash during Saturday’s China GT Championship race left him with devastating injuries. The 36-year-old from Windsor sustained six broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand and finger, and a partially collapsed lung, according to his wife Fern.
Millroy owes his survival to the courage of Dutch competitor Loek Hartog, 23, who abandoned his own race to drag the stricken Briton from his blazing Ferrari before any emergency crews reached the scene.
The incident occurred on the seventh lap of the opening race at Shanghai International Circuit, when Millroy’s car was struck following a collision between two other vehicles, causing it to erupt into a fireball. The race was immediately red-flagged and never resumed.
Millroy’s team, AAI Motorsport, has since announced a complete withdrawal from future China GT events, citing serious safety failings.
British racecar driver Ollie Millroy’s car went up in flames before he was pulled out
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Footage of the horrifying incident shows Millroy’s Ferrari spinning off the circuit as flames and thick smoke engulfed the vehicle after two cars collided into him on a bend.
With no flag marshals or fire crews anywhere in sight, Hartog pulled up alongside the wreckage, unbuckled his harness and leapt from his car — sacrificing any prospect of a result in the process.
Onboard camera from Hartog’s vehicle captured the 23-year-old frantically tearing at sections of the Ferrari’s bodywork in a desperate bid to free the trapped Briton.
When his initial efforts proved unsuccessful, Hartog grabbed a fire extinguisher from a nearby official and battled the blaze himself before finally managing to haul Millroy out through the opposite side of the destroyed car.
The pair were later filmed sitting together on a trackside wall after the remarkable rescue.
Footage of Ollie Millroy’s car blowing up has gone viral on social media
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Sharing a photograph from his hospital bed, Millroy paid an emotional tribute to his rescuer on Instagram. “I am still alive tonight, entirely thanks to one man,” he wrote. “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.”
The 36-year-old revealed he has no recollection of the crash itself. “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,” he said.
Millroy, a father of three, added a deeply personal note. “One day I will tell our three kids this story and Loek will be the biggest superhero in history in their eyes too,” he wrote, before concluding simply: “I owe you my life.”
Hartog’s response was characteristically modest. “When I saw a car turning into a huge fireball far ahead, there wasn’t really a decision to make,” the Dutchman wrote on Instagram. “From what I had seen, I genuinely believed the driver might not be able to get out by himself. I stopped, got out and went towards the car. There was never a moment of doubt.”
He acknowledged the terror of the situation. “It was scary. There were moments where I didn’t know I would actually be able to get Ollie out,” he said, adding that he was certain most others would have done the same.
Replying directly to Millroy’s tribute, Hartog wrote: “You have nothing to thank me for. I wish to live in a world where this would not be considered as bravery but as instinct of others too.”
The young Dutchman also called for “something constructive” to emerge from the ordeal, ensuring no drivers face a similar situation in future.
AAI Motorsport delivered a scathing assessment of the safety provisions at the event. The team highlighted that Millroy’s Ferrari burned “for more than a minute” without any effective intervention from race officials, asking pointedly: “What might have happened if that driver hadn’t stepped up today?”
The team declared it would refuse to enter any further China GT races, stating: “We accept the inherent dangers of motorsports, but we absolutely cannot accept a driver being exposed to avoidable death.”
Ollie Millroy delivers an emotional message to thank Loek Hartog for saving his life yesterday in Shanghai, China.
“I am still alive tonight, entirely thanks to one man; Loek Hartog stopped instantly with no flag marshalls or fire crews in sight, and risked his own life to get… pic.twitter.com/tWACBXQcXO
— MV33Racing (@MV33Racing) September 6, 2026
AAI also took aim at broadcasters for claiming during the live coverage that drivers had exited their vehicles unaided — a characterisation the team called “particularly distressing” given the reality of what occurred.
China GT organisers have since conceded failings and pledged a full review. They said they would “formulate more comprehensive plans to address shortcomings in competition organisation, support, emergency response, rescue and medical services.”
