Matt Hall is quietly confident that his team will put in a decent performance in this weekend's opening round of the Red Bull Air Race (RBAR) series.
Speaking from Ras Al Kaimah in Abu Dhabi, Hall said his MXS racing plane felt good in race trim.
"We've got the plane set up quite well with the centre of gravity and the stick forces are quite symmetrical in all axes, so I'm quite happy with how the plane feels in the track.
"I'm confident I can fly cleanly and hopefully error free in a plane which we are pretty happy with the set-up. That doesn't mean I can control how anyone else is going to fly or how fast their plane is. I'm confident of getting a reasonable result, but it all will depend on ... how everyone else does as well."
According to Hall, changes in the track layout forced by safety issues have not resulted in a tame course.
"The track is still challenging to fly," he said. "It's a faster track than previously, mainly due to the fact that we haven't got a 270-degree turn in the track. It's probably more comparable to somewhere like Budapest or Porto, but it's still as challenging as any other track I've flown for Red Bull Air Race."
Even with the MXS better set-up than it was during the 2010 RBAR season, Hall knows he still has to beat the familiar faces that dominated the standings in the series' previous form.
"It's still probably the guys that have always been at the top are still going to be up there. They've got both fast planes and the ability to be at the top. I do think we're going to see a few other people rise to be very competitive compared to the last series.
"I still think Hannes [Arch] and Paul [Bonhomme] are going to be the guys we'll be up against."
It would appear that Hall has already mastered one of the most important aspects of RBAR: he's having a lot of fun taking up the challenge.
"It's awesome to be here and flying in a track," he enthused. "I get some butterflies before I go into the track, which is a good thing because it means I'm taking it seriously. But when I'm in the track I'm having a blast.
"I feel I could do much more time in the track and just really enjoy doing lap after lap. Everything feels great, I'm happy to be here and so happy it's back on."
Round One of the RBAR series starts on Friday 28 February with the final on Saturday 1 March.