Probably the most memorable race the pair had was at Brands Hatch as a support class for the 1995 world Superbike championship. The two Kiwis lapped half the field and finished first and second with Stroud taking the honours and going on to win the world championship.
"It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since he [Britten] passed away. I've got fond memories of my time with John and it was a big part of my racing career. It doesn't seem that long ago we were together and he's still well remembered by a lot of people," said Stroud. "One of my best memories is from Brands Hatch when these two bikes were there and the whole crowd of 65,000 people were on their feet cheering as we crossed the line one-two. That was in August nearly 20 years ago and John saw the race from his hospital bed two weeks before he passed away."
Stroud and Briggs will be riding at Ruapuna this weekend probably the two most famous Brittens of the seven that have been confirmed for the event. When first showcased to the racing public and riders in the early 1990s the bike drew incredulous looks. People had seen nothing like it and couldn't work out how they could possibly race, let alone go fast.
"Lots of people design different parts of motorbikes but you don't often get someone doing the whole thing from scratch. It really stood out at the time because it didn't have any forks, no conventional frame and looked so different.
"The first time I rode the bike I was really surprised how powerful it was and how much acceleration it had. It was also so light - in fact, a modern day superbike still weighs 20kg to 25kg more than the Britten. It handled really well and was so easy to flick from left to right, and you could break really late with it.
"The first time at Daytona, people were looking and wondering what it was. After the race - I had been just 0.1sec off the lap record - there were a mass of people swarming over it. Even Doug Polen, the world Superbike champion, came over with a big smile saying 'wow, what is this thing'.
"Three years later we went back to Daytona and set the fastest lap speed of 305km/h, which stood for quite a few years," said Stroud.
The Britten certainly made its mark on motorcycle racing history and anyone who either rode them, or saw them racing, still has vivid memories of the thundering V1000 machines. Stroud went on to win the battle of the Twins at Daytona in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 on a Britten.
"As time goes on I appreciate them more and more. They still look like they could be a brand new [designed] bike straight off the showroom floor," said Stroud.