China GT Response Timeline Clarified After Millroy Crash

The timeline of the response of trackside officials in the wake of the fiery accident involving Ollie Millroy in last weekend’s opening race of the China GT Championship race at Shanghai International Circuit has been clarified.

CCTV images published on Thursday have revealed the exact time taken for marshals and fire crews to arrive on the scene of the accident at the Turn 14 hairpin, where Loek Hartog heroically pulled Millroy from his burning FIST Team AAI Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

The accident was triggered by contact between the Harmony Racing Ferrari of David Chen and the TBC by 610 Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Neil Verhagen on Shanghai’s long back straight, causing both cars to lose control and Chen to spear into Millroy.

In the aftermath of the heavily-publicized crash, China GT came under heavy fire from competitors and fans alike for the perceived slow response time to the wreckage, with several drivers — including Millroy’s co-driver Betty Chen — expressed their intention to withdraw from the championship as a result.

Until now, the only response from organizers came in the form of a short statement posted to its official Weibo account on Sunday.

It read: “Following a preliminary review, the overall resources and arrangements for the event were found to meet the requirements for a national-level competition. However, there is room for improvement in terms of detailed management.

“Following the event, we will conduct a further review and investigation into this accident, and develop more comprehensive measures to address shortcomings identified in areas including race officiating, rescue operations, emergency response and medical services.

“We will take this accident as a lesson and further strengthen management in the above areas, while ensuring that all measures are fully implemented.”

However, CCTV footage of the accident compiled by BEC Motorsports showed that the response time to the accident was not as slow as claimed by some.

The CCTV images showed that the race was stopped 12 seconds after the incident took place, at which point marshals and rescue crews were immediately instructed to proceed to the scene of the crash. Four seconds later, Hartog pulled over at the side of the track and began working to extricate Millroy from his car.

After another 31 seconds, 47 seconds from the accident taking place, the first marshal carrying a fire extinguisher arrived, handing it to Hartog.

A second marshal carrying an extinguisher arrived eight seconds later, followed closely by the arrival of the first rapid response fire crew comprising additional marshals carrying multiple extinguishers, 66 seconds after the accident.

Four minutes and eight seconds after the crash, the chief medic arrived in the medical car to begin assisting Millroy and Chen, while the first ambulance arrived on the scene six minutes and 16 seconds after the crash to transport Millroy to Ruijin Hospital.

Chen was then also taken to the medical center, and then on to the same hospital, by the second ambulance.

Millroy posted an update to his social media on Thursday morning indicating that he has left his hospital’s intensive care unit, having undergone surgery on Sunday.

The 36-year-old suffered six broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand and finger, and a punctured lung as a result of the impact.