The first day of the 2011 Clipsal 500 had arrived. Preparations have gone well.

Numbers are down slightly on previous years with the Fire Marshals and there is the usual changes of days that can be worked and not worked by them.

We still had enough to do the job and with some last minute massaging of the dispersals, it was time to hit print.

An early morning start at the Sign On tent and of course, more massaging of the dispersal with a few more non starters for the day.

Headed up to Race Control with the usual heart starter Cappuccino to take on the onslaught of equipment issues that need to be dealt with on the first morning.

It was then time to get some cars circulating on the track.

The morning started out well with a few recoveries, mainly for breakdowns. No fires or crashes of note. That was until the Aussie Racing Cars had their first race.

This was followed with some more flurry in the V8 Utes, The day finished with the Australian GT Championship which was supposed to be a twilight event but with the cloud cover ended up being a night finish.

Total recoveries for the day was 33 – a little down on previous years which is probably a good thing.

The final duty for the day was the Seniors Briefing (with the obligatory beverage), then home to get ready for Day 2.