to the Daytona 200, now with full support from the Yamaha factory racing team. The race turned into a battle between Cecotto and his Yamaha teammate, Kenny Roberts. Their grueling pace proved too much for their tires and on the 33rd of the 52 laps Roberts slowed with a worn rear tire. Nine laps from the end, Roberts' tire blew apart, almost making him lose control before he limped back into the pits. Cecotto's pit crew attempted to wave him into the pits with three laps remaining to check on his tire but, he ignored their signal and continued on to win the race. Afterwards, his shredded tires showed how close he was to suffering the same fate as Roberts. Cecotto moved up to the premier 500cc class riding a year-old Yamaha YZR500 for a Yamaha-supported satellite team operated under the Venemotos team banner. Suzuki's Barry Sheene was expected to be his main competitor for the 1976 world championship. He began the season with a promising second-place finish behind Sheene at the season-opening French Grand Prix however, Cecotto struggled to come to grips with the Yamaha, falling 13 times in subsequent races. He failed to score any further points after the French round and shortly after the Italian Grand Prix, he gave up on the 500cc class completely to concentrate on defending his 350cc title. He finished the 500cc season in a disappointing 20th place as Sheene won the 500cc world championship. He also lost his 350cc crown in a tight battle with Harley-Davidson mounted Walter Villa. While Cecotto possessed a natural riding ability, some observers speculated that he had won too early in his career without fully understanding how he had accomplished it. Yamaha Team Manager and former world champion Rod Gould said, "I think Cecotto was going fast and didn't really know why. Now he doesn't know why he's going slower and crashing." Cecotto's results were also affected by the Venemotos team's disorganization and lack of preparation. According to his Yamaha factory mechanic Vince French, on several occasions, the team failed to file official race entry forms or failed to secure garage space thus delaying vital practice time. On other occasions, the team failed to provide equipment required by race organizers causing further delays. At the beginning of the 1977 season, Cecotto was badly injured in a deadly four rider accident at the Austrian Grand Prix that claimed