“Black Rock is Australia’s first driving resort,” he says.

“When I drove through that gate for the first time and saw this site open up, it was one of those moments where the vision painted itself as soon as I came through the door.

“The idea of having a village, a hotel, skid pans, go karts, not just a track… There’s nothing else like this.”

Like a minister with their connection to the spiritual realm, Tony sees more than you or I. Where I see a dirt road today, Palmer sees a world-class racetrack rollicking through the hills tomorrow.

Where you see bushland, he sees a resort, luxury villas, a restaurant and climate controlled garages.

Where the NSW government saw an underground coal mine ravaged by fire, Palmer saw an opportunity to create something Australia has never seen before.

Like the blaze that crackled away under the Hunter Valley’s Rondda Colliery for 30 years, the burning drive to build something special a couple of hours north of Sydney is not a fleeting spark.

Palmer and his team have spent a decade working to make the $150 million project happen.

There was serious toil in finding the land, purchasing it from Chinese giant Yancoal, having the mining lease relinquished and working with regulators to overcome myriad challenges. And they’re not out of the woods yet.

“This is about an 11 out of 10 in terms of how difficult this project has been,” Palmer says.

“There have been quite a few people that have dreamt the dream... it’s certainly not a unique idea.

“But the process of how to do this is not clear. There are no instruction manuals on how to do this, so we’ve had to feel our way through. It’s been a long journey.”

Why do it?

Because Palmer says his first foray on track was, at the time, “the best day of my life”, and that the Ascari race resort in Spain is “the coolest thing I’ve ever seen”.

Ascari was the first track built by car enthusiasts, for car enthusiasts and their community.

There are about a dozen similar facilities around the globe today - from Monticello Motor Club in New York to the Magarigawa Club in Japan - expensive and exclusive places that host luxury escapes, not Formula 1 races.

Even so, F1 track designers from the Tilke Group helped shape Black Rock, working with the rise and fall of the earth to create an extraordinary playground for wealthy enthusiasts.

The office car park offers a taste of the hedonic playground to come.

Four vehicles parked outside have a combined value of a million bucks.

Three twin-turbocharged luxury rides from Porsche, Audi and Mercedes have much in common, while the other is a humble farm ute - the RAM TRX worth more than $200,000.

Palmer’s flash Panerai watch glints from his wrist as he tosses the over keys.

I breathe a prayer of thanks as the 700 horsepower RAM thunders away from the site office, its supercharger squealing with delight.

There’s an appropriately pyrotechnic crack from the tailpipes as we fly past the explosives magazine built decades ago to store Gelignite.

The 5.4 kilometre long gravel course unfurls like a rollercoaster track in front of the galloping pick-up that cannot get enough of its hills, valleys and sweeping bends.

Having been frustrated by the silly dimensions and sickening fuel consumption of this car in the real world, I delight in its roaring motor, all-terrain ability and playful handling as we kick up dust with lurid powerslides in a gravel playground.

The RAM’s heavily peppered duco gets a few more pockmarks as we soar over crests, dive into compressions and tear through the countryside at a hundred miles an hour.

The track is sensational in a three-tonne truck.

It promises to be transcendent in a supercar.

It’s nothing short of sensational in a Can-Am offroader.

The stripped-back buggy with its turbocharged engine, long-travel suspension and zero driver assistance tech represents driving at its raw best.

Freed from the worry of damaging a Porsche-priced pickup, I push harder over the track’s broken ground to uncover more of its brilliance.

Though I’m the first reporter to steer around the circuit, I’m not the first wide-eyed visitor to belly laugh at the absurdity of this place.

I certainly won’t be the last.

Though he has kept a relatively low profile, dozens of disciples have bought into Palmer’s dream, signing up for $3.5 million villas or $2200 per month memberships that buy daily access to the circuit when it opens in 2026.

Less wealthy folks will be able to pay for a sports car driving experience, join dealer or manufacturer test drives and wheel their own sports cars on track from time to time.

In a world where speed limits, demerit points and safety cameras make it harder than ever to enjoy fast cars, Black Rock believers will be able to keep the faith.