Dudley Heathens Speedway: JON ARMSTRONG

JON ARMSTRONG

DATE OF BIRTH: 1 August 1974, Manchester, Greater Manchester.

BRITISH CAREER: (1992-93) Belle Vue; (1994) Coventry; (1996) Buxton, Sheffield; (1997) Buxton, Belle Vue II, Swindon, Stoke; (1998) Newport, Newport II; (1999) Belle Vue, Stoke; (2000) Newport; (2001) Stoke; (2002) Buxton, Stoke; (2003) Stoke; (2004) Mildenhall, Belle Vue; (2005) Mildenhall, Peterborough; (2006) Mildenhall, Peterborough; (2007) Boston, Birmingham, Buxton; (2008-09) Weymouth; (2010) Dudley.

CLUB HONOURS: Four-Team Championship winner: 2004 [Mildenhall]; Conference Trophy winner: 2004 [Mildenhall]; League Championship winner: 2004 [Mildenhall]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2004 [Mildenhall].

MAJOR HONOUR: Amateur League Riders' Champion: 1997.

2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 9.05 (NL).

ADDITIONAL INFO: A lengthy career in the sport for the ‘Mighty Midget' began at Belle Vue in the 1990s and saw him represent a variety of clubs at all three levels of the sport, before he arrived at Weymouth in 2008. Regrettably, his campaign with the Wildcats came to an abrupt end on 31 May, when he suffered a broken tibia and patella tendon in a heat seven smash with team-mate Jay Herne during the Conference League Pairs Championship at his home track.

The Mancunian returned to the saddle with Weymouth as club skipper in 2009 but, after struggling with the leg he broke the previous year, he was ordered to take at least six weeks off on medical advice. In the interim, he was replaced in the Wildcats' line-up by Mark Burrows. Later in the season, following Lee Smart's departure from the Wessex club, Armstrong - although still ruled out by knee problems - was briefly re-introduced into Weymouth's declared 1-7, thus allowing them a facility in his continued absence. This was utilized in a home National Trophy engagement with Mildenhall on 31 July, but the move was subsequently vetoed and the Wildcats instead enlisted the services of Benji Compton in early August.

During his elongated spell on the sidelines, doctors ordered Armstrong to undergo a knee arthroscopy to assess the full extent of the damage. However, after being kept waiting by the NHS, he ended up spending £3,500 to get it looked at privately. Having been warned that an operation might make things worse, he nonetheless decided to go for it and underwent surgery on 26 August. Thankfully, this proved a success and Armstrong began planning his comeback to racing in earnest. And, on 9 April 2010, Dudley announced his acquisition as a replacement for the injured Ben Taylor.

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