diff --git a/sys/conf/newvers.sh b/sys/conf/newvers.sh
index 436b0ef15f01..b46d956851e5 100644
--- a/sys/conf/newvers.sh
+++ b/sys/conf/newvers.sh
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 
 TYPE="FreeBSD"
 REVISION="8.1"
-BRANCH="PRERELEASE"
+BRANCH="RC1"
 if [ "X${BRANCH_OVERRIDE}" != "X" ]; then
 	BRANCH=${BRANCH_OVERRIDE}
 fi