diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index eaf6e0266331..da716f399bcd 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 VERSION = 2
 PATCHLEVEL = 6
 SUBLEVEL = 16
-EXTRAVERSION = .52
+EXTRAVERSION = .53-rc1
 NAME=Stable Penguin
 
 # *DOCUMENTATION*