BEags
Leon, I gather that Bastard Bill tried to throw the book at the 'zoom merchant' to whom you refer, for exceeding the Release To Service limitations......
Until someone happened to mention the Lightning - and whether 'reheat rotations' were in the R to S. BB allegedly got the message and perhaps coincidentally the witch hunting stopped shortly afterwards, with a comment "Just don't do it again!".
All the above is anecdotal, I hasten to add.
Yes, BB was indeed rumoured to have been involved as you say.
Sadly, for the Zoom Merchant it wasn't such a happy ending as he was in a significant position of responsibility at the time...
I'm guessing that the champagne riders were nowhere near Mother Earth when they got their 1000mph tick.
LJ