KATHMANDU: Porsche driver Loek Hartog abandoned a China GT race in Shanghai to rescue rival driver Ollie Millroy from a Ferrari that caught fire following a major crash.
The accident happened around 20 minutes into Saturday’s opening race at the Shanghai International Circuit. Neil Verhagen’s BMW M4 GT3 Evo lost control after running onto the damp grass while battling David Chen.
The BMW then hit Chen’s Ferrari before both cars slid towards the hairpin. Millroy’s Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo was hit heavily from the side and immediately caught fire.
Hartog, who was approaching the crash in his Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, stopped his car and ran towards the burning Ferrari. He first tried to reach Millroy from the driver’s side before moving around the car.
He then pulled the Ferrari’s door off while trying to free Millroy. A marshal soon arrived with a fire extinguisher, allowing Hartog to reach the trapped driver and pull him from the car. The entire rescue took less than a minute.
Millroy later said he has no memory of the rescue and cannot remember anything from around 30 seconds before the crash until nearly an hour later.
He suffered five broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, a broken hand and finger, and a bruised lung. He was scheduled for surgery before starting his recovery.
Millroy credited Hartog with saving his life, saying the Porsche driver stopped when there were no marshals or firefighters immediately at the burning Ferrari.
Hartog, however, played down his actions and said he believed many people would have done the same in that situation.
