This past weekend, Dutch racer Loek Hartog turned into a hero when he pulled British driver Ollie Millroy from a burning Ferrari in just 49 seconds during a China Gran Turismo race in Shanghai. A viral Reddit post in the nextf**kinglevel subreddit brought the rescue to light for many non-racing fans.
The post showcased footage from Hartog’s own car, capturing the moments he ran from his Porsche, ripped doors out, found a fire extinguisher, and pulled Millroy from the car while emergency crews were nowhere to be found. Reddit immediately noted that Hartog’s quick action is the reason Millroy is alive. One user commented, “Likely saved that guys life or at the very least prevented injuries from getting worse. Dude is a legend.” One person just shared Fred Rogers’ quote.
“When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Another user noted, “Loek actually won. Not the race, but our hearts and respect Good, kind humans are hard to come by now. Thank you Loek.” However, a big conversation was the clear and very dangerous lack of emergency crews. As one Redditor demanded, “Where the f**ck were the Marshals?!”
Horrifying safety concerns
According to Motorsport, the crash happened about 20 minutes into the opening race at the Shanghai International Circuit. The incident was triggered when Neil Verhagen’s BMW made contact with David Chen’s Ferrari at high speeds on the approach to Turn 14. It sent the cars sliding into Millroy’s AAI Motorsports Ferrari.
The resulting impact forced Millroy’s car to catch fire, leading to an immediate red flag. The Guardian noted that Millroy sustained five broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, a broken hand and finger, and a bruised lung.
Per the outlets, the emergency response has faced intense criticism from teams and observers alike. AAI Motorsports co-driver Yin Yu Chen stated that Millroy was left alone for over a minute without any fire brigade or emergency service support. This failure led the team to announce their permanent withdrawal from the China GT championship.
The Guardian noted that the team FIST Auto also expressed distress, stating, “It is particularly distressing that during the live broadcast, the organisers did not verify the situation on the scene, and hastily said the drivers left the cars on their own.”
The situation grew more contentious as details emerged about the marshals and medical staff. According to Crash, reports indicate that marshals handed the extinguisher to Hartog and then fled the scene. A far cry from a dramatic rescue. Additionally, an ambulance crew took 15 minutes to arrive because the driver was allegedly asleep.
In response, Yang Baijie, boss of the 610 Racing team, confirmed his team would also be withdrawing from the series. In a social media post, Baijie reportedly wrote, “The marshals panicked, dropped their fire extinguishers, and fled. The ambulance arrived fifteen minutes after the incident because its driver was asleep; individuals banged on his window and still could not wake him.”
Per Crash, China GT issued a statement in response to the backlash, apologizing for the incident and the “shock and impact” it caused. While the organization defended its event setup by claiming it “complied with national-level competition standards,” they admitted there was “room for improvement in terms of detailed management.” The committee promised a thorough review of their emergency response and rescue operations.
Despite the chaos, Hartog remained humble about his actions. Motorsport noted that he told followers on social media, “When I saw a car engulfed in a huge ball of fire in front of me, there wasn’t really a decision to be made. From what I could see, I naturally assumed the driver couldn’t get out on his own, so I stopped, got out and went over to the car. I never had any doubts.”
He admitted to his fans, “It was terrifying, and there were moments when I didn’t know if I’d ever manage to get Ollie out.” Millroy, on the other hand, only has gratitude. In a post on Instagram, he told Hartog, “I owe my life to you.”
“I’m still alive tonight, solely thanks to one man, Loek Hartog, who stopped immediately – even though there were no track marshals or firefighters in sight – and risked his own life to pull me out of the car.” Millroy also noted, “One day I will tell our three kids this story and Loek will be the biggest superhero in history in their eyes too.”
Millroy plans to recover and eventually get back to racing.
Published: Sep 8, 2026 08:25 am