The rule of abstinence for the whole team was, I believe, written with RAAM in mind, where there are no breaks, driving is an integral part of the event, everyone is involved with the ride 24/7, and alcohol would be not just inappropriate but potentially illegal and dangerous. That rule was not appropriate for HAMR, so was set aside - quite rightly.
All event rules adapt with time and experience, and most events have different categories. There are already, in Guinness, categories of drafting and non-drafting cycling records. The basic criterion is that the attempt is recorded in a way that is able to be examined and ratified after the event, and that I suspect is where Bruce has fallen short in the past and will again.
Reading Citizenfish's "The Year" will show you several examples of rides which apparently broke the record standing at the time, but for which the records were inadequate and questionable and so they weren't ratified. Most of those rides took considerable research to find out about, whereas the ones that were ratified are in the history books and there to be seen. Bruce risks being one of the riders who misses out on being recorded by history, just for being lax with the paperwork. If so, more fool him.