diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 24488b22..fb324f70 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ vim: spelllang=en spell tw=78
 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+Changes in 1.6.1:
+
+* Added libfakeethercat to simulate Process Data of EtherCAT Slaves.
+
 Changes in 1.6.0:
 
 * Added all native Ethernet drivers for kernels 5.14 and 6.1.
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 22007635..9ae82e4d 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ AC_PREREQ(2.59)
 # - Update version number below
 # - make dist-bzip2
 #
-AC_INIT([ethercat],[1.6.0],[fp@igh.de])
+AC_INIT([ethercat],[1.6.1],[fp@igh.de])
 AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([autoconf])
 AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([-Wall -Wno-override -Werror dist-bzip2 subdir-objects foreign])
 m4_ifdef([AM_SILENT_RULES], [AM_SILENT_RULES([yes])])