Hartog grabbed a fire extinguisher from the marshal and damped down the blaze before dragging Millroy away from the engulfed Ferrari.
Dramatic video of Dutch racing driver Loek Hartog, moments after he rescued a fellow competitor, Ollie Millroy, from a blazing wreck, shows him battling to hold back tears of emotion.
Hartog dashed into the flames which engulfed Millroy’s Ferrari after a crash during the China GT Championship race at the Shanghai International Circuit.
He is seen grabbing a fire extinguisher from a race marshal and damping down the blaze before dragging Millroy away.
“I am still alive tonight entirely thanks to one man,” Millroy posted on Instagram later. “I don’t remember anything… but I will remember his incredible act of bravery for the rest of my life.”
Hartog played down his heroics in a social media note posted after visiting Millroy in hospital.
“It’s not about what I did. I’m sure many people in my position would have reacted exactly the same way.”
His words echoed those of English racing driver Mike Hailwood, who similarly saved Clay Regazzoni from being burned to death following a crash during the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami in 1973.
Maybe racing drivers are different, because they dice with death every time they go out on track.
But, maybe, there is a hero deep inside each one of us.
