LAKESIDE remain top of the Elite League standings after a win and a defeat in the latest round of fixtures.

The Vortex Hammers were beaten 50-40 by Belle Vue on Saturday, narrowly missing out on a consolation point. Although they had beaten their nearest challengers Wolverhampton 53-37 just three days earlier.

The week started so well for the Hammers, with Lewis Bridger in brilliant form, notching a staggering 17+1 from seven outings and with star man Andreas Jonsson carding 13+1.

"I know I will only be at reserve for a short space of time but I'm delighted with that performance,” said Bridger.

"I really enjoyed it and I love this track, it's great.

"I beat some top riders and that pleases me, so when I go back into the main body of the team I feel confident I can keep it going."

But it wasn’t until the last five heats that Jon Cook's men slammed home their superiority with a 21-9 score line swing to make the result look emphatic.

The Hammers didn’t enjoy such a profitable evening on Saturday, as they lost by 10 points against Belle Vue.

They were level after eight heats but conceded a costly 5-1 in the penultimate race as they missed out on the chance to add to their Elite League points tally.

And team coach Kelvin Tatum admitted they were disappointed to leave Manchester empty-handed, although he was keen to look at the positives after another encouraging display on their travels.

“It was a spirited display but it wasn’t quite enough to pick up that all-important league point which was disappointing,” he said.

“It’s a case of déjà vu truth as we’ve been in a similar position on more than one occasion away from home and haven’t got the points to show for it.

“It’s difficult to criticise because we did compete very well, and we weren’t far away at all, but it would be nice to turn some more of these good away performances into hard-earned league points.”

British ace Lewis Bridger continued his fine form to top score with 9+2, whilst reserve partner Robert Mear also bagged an excellent 7+1.

After a busy spell, the Purfleet outfit will have a chance to regroup before returning to action against Swindon at the Abbey on Thursday, June 16 (7:30) then hosting the Robins in the return fixture at the Arena-Essex Raceway 24 hours later.