Small businesses continued turning to the U.S. Small Business Administration for commercial credit in record numbers through the first three quarters of FY 2005, reflecting their confidence in the U.S. economy and the stability of the SBAloan program that backs their loans.

Small businesses secured SBA backing under the agency's flagship 7(a) program for 71,131 loans through the first nine months of the fiscal year, a 21 percent increase over the same period a year ago and a 49 percent increase over the same period two years ago.

The loans made so far this year amount to $11.1 billion, 19.5 percent more than in the same period last year, and on a clear pace for a record-setting year for the program.

"Spectacular" and "fearless" - that's how McLaren boss Ron Dennis is describing the partnership of Juan-Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen ahead of the new season. But he’s convinced that the pair will work "exceptionally well" together.

In any other year, the partnership of Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella would be the pre-season talking point.

But from the moment that it was confirmed, way back in November 2003, that Montoya would be moving to McLaren for 2005, there was only ever going to be one topic of attention this winter: a driver pairing which has the potential to be the most explosive and compelling since the days when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost drove for McLaren. Grand Prix Tickets Such is the partnership’s potential that even the normally implacable Ron Dennis is excited. And that’s certainly saying something.

"I believe these two guys are going to be spectacular," he told the BBC. "They both have phenomenal car control and there is an intuitive approach to their racing.

"In different ways, they are both fearless. Kimi is a much cooler guy than Juan Pablo, but I don't think Juan Pablo will be as volatile as before."

The key to harnessing the partnership will be the atmosphere inside McLaren, according to Dennis.

"I think they will work exceptionally well together, although keeping [the atmosphere] light is going to be the key.

"The only problem will be if their only competition is each other. But the cultural differences between Senna and Prost and their characters were significantly greater than between Kimi and Juan Pablo and I don't envisage the same sort of problems."

Dennis' man-management skills were credited with bringing the best out of Senna during his career at McLaren, and the McLaren chief has similar hopes for Montoya.

"Juan Pablo has lost six kilos since last season," Dennis notes approvingly. "He is fitter. His eyes are lighter. You can see he has a much more focused approach."

The big question is whether either Kimi or Juan, or both, will be able to beat Michael Schumacher in 2005. Dennis seems sure they can.

"Ferrari have done such a good job you don't know how good he is. But one thing is sure. He is beatable and he has been beaten - twice by Mika Hakkinen and at other times by other drivers. We are very fortunate to have two of the best five drivers in the world in our cars."

However, Dennis is more circumspect on the question of whether McLaren will be able to supply their two star drivers with a package that will match Ferrari’s. While the team’s car has been brisk in testing, he accepts that the Michelin v Bridgestone battle is an unknown quantity that could ultimately decisively sway the championship battle.

"Based on our evaluation of everyone other than Ferrari, I would say that Renault and ourselves seem to be reasonably competitive," Dennis says. "But don't exclude Ferrari - they are a very good race team and I have no idea how competitive they are. "But if they are able to beat us I would put it more down to them having done a better job on tyre development. I can't believe we haven't done enough work to close the gap. I think we will see this year some of the best racing there has ever been in F1."

"We had a record year for this loan program a year ago, and we're going to set another record in 2005," said SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto. "It tells us that the critics are wrong, that small businesses are confident enough to invest in the future of the American economy, and that this program is here to help them do it. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of the self-funded footing on which the President has placed the loan program, and the confidence that lenders have in its stability. I am very pleased with this performance so far this year."

The gains are also reflected in the SBA's Certified Development Company, or 504, loan program. Through the first nine months of the fiscal year, the 504 program had issued 6,434 loans worth $3.44 billion, more than 6 percent ahead of the same period a year ago, when the program had produced 6,058 loans for $2.88 billion.

The budget for the current year makes more than $21 billion available to small businesses through the two loan programs, including $16 billion in small business lending under the 7(a) program and $5 billion under the 504 program.

For information on applying for an SBA loan, visit the SBA's extensive Web site