The 2017 series of the Red Bull Air Race kicks off this weekend with the traditional opening round at Abu Dhabi.
This year sees much change in the racing line-up, after the retirement of long-time competitor and 2014 World Champion Nigel Lamb and the tragic, untimely death of Hannes Arch last year.
There is, however, new blood coming into the series, with Frenchman Mikael Brageot taking the spot vacated by Lamb, and Chilean Cristian Bolton remaining in the Master Class after stepping up in 2016 to substitute for Arch. Both pilots come well credentialled, having performed well in the feeder Challenger Cup series.
For Australian Matt Hall, 2017 should have seen him start almost favourite for the championship, despite the dominance of his good friend and 2016 World Champion Matthias Dolderer. Hall has finished second in the championship for two years in a row, meaning he is ripe to take the next step up the ladder.
However, team Matt Hall Racing has gone through an upheaval in the weeks leading up to Abu Dhabi, with the team being forced to swap from the MXS-R racer that has served him so well, to a rented Edge 540 on which Hall has limited experience.
By his own admission, 2017 will be a year of learning for the team.
"We had a challenging year as a team in 2016, which probably came down to trying too hard," Hall said.
"Now for 2017 we have a few more hurdles as we switch from our MXS-R to an Edge 540. We will be on a learning curve and expect some teething problems as we learn to operate the aircraft to its full potential, but we have a good team and we're motivated to make this plane fast.
"The aim for us is to enjoy 2017 and consolidate the new aircraft and team. Our goal is to be a race-winning combination by year's end."
As the race teams prepare for Abu Dhabi, the 2017 calendar is still not complete, with two dates in August and September not yet committed to locations, other than somewhere inside Europe.
From Abu Dhabi, the series goes to San Diego, then Japan, Hungary, Russia, the two European rounds and finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October.
Missing from this year's race schedule (so far) are Las Vegas, Spielberg, Lausitz and Ascot, although the vacant European rounds could still be filled by any of the last three..
This weekend's race is the 10th held in the emirate, where the series has traditionally opened every season since 2005. The two-lap race this Sunday will also be the 75th round of the Red Bull Air Race since the inaugural series in 2003.
"[Abu Dhabi is] always a bit of a special race because it's the re-start after more or less a long break," said Nicolas Ivanoff, who won there last year.
"During the winter time it's nice to come here because of the sun and it's really warm. I don't like it when it's really cold; it's good for the engine, but not for me!"
Qualifying starts at 11.00 pm AEST on Friday, with the Round of 14 at 9.00 pm on Saturday night and the Final 4 following at 11.30 pm.
To keep up with this weekend's qualifying and race rounds, go to the Red Bull Air Race website.